Will The Smoke Affect Your Crops When It Rains?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A change in weather is expected later this week, but that hasn't stopped the smoky air that continues to linger across the region.

With the impending rain mixing with the smoke and falling into the soil, CBS13 wanted to find out what it means for gardens and crops.

"The rain may be slightly more acidic than normal because of all the pollution in the air right now when it comes down," said Chris Cappa, Professor of Environmental Engineering at UC Davis.

There are indeed more toxins in the haze particles floating around, which will slowly deposit on everything when it rains, including crops. But, Cappa said there's a buffering capacity within the soil.

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"In general we have very resistant soils here and so a little bit of input or even a little bit of additional acidity, plants will respond pretty well to that," he said.

That means the acidity won't have much of a lasting impact.

"It's only with prolonged exposure and repeated exposure if we got acid rain all the time that we might end up with problems," he said.

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Instead, the rain is only going to be a good thing for our region.

"It will help clean up the air overall. It will wash things off and yes, it is pulling the pollution out of the air and putting it on the ground, but it gets very much diluted when that happens," he said.

He added that even though the rain is much needed, it's even more important now to wash the fruits and vegetables in your garden before eating.