What rain smells like?
Of course, rain itself has no scent. But moments before a rain event, an “earthy” smell known as petrichor does permeate the air. People call it musky, fresh — generally pleasant. This smell actually comes from the moistening of the ground. What is that smell when it rains? That smell—known as petrichor—stems from microscopic streptomycete bacteria in the soil that produce a compound called geosmin, The Times reports. Although geosmin can be toxic to some species, others, such as the insectlike springtail (pictured), associate it with a meal.