It doesn’t rain very often in the UAE, but one of the best things about it when it does is that almost indescribable atmosphere in the air.

Part of that is the smell of fresh rain water hitting the ground – but what causes it?

The most common smell after a downpour is known as “petrichor”, which happens when rain hits bacteria living in dry earth.

But there are other reasons too, and there’s actual science behind the idea that you can “smell” a storm brewing!

So – if you really want to know why rain smells so good, all the answers are in our video.