What could cause sugary rain?

In a world very similar to ours, rain has a high concentration of simple carbohydrates in it, enough to sustain life on the surface. After some rainfall, this sugary rainwater is left behind and some organisms consume it while it's still dissolved. Other organisms wait for the water to evaporate and leave behind a crust of nearly pure sugar that can then be consumed. Fungi, animals, and microbes all live on the surface of the world, but there are no photosynthesizers found on the surface and all energy comes from the sky in the form of these sugary raindrops. The concentration of sugar in the rain can vary dramatically, from nearly-pure to saturated.

The world is very similar to ours, but atmosphere density and composition can be variable. I'd like to keep the $O_2$ concentration at about 20% to maintain Earthlike lifeforms. Sunlight intensity and temperature are both open to variation as well. Such a sugar should be produced by natural means- there's no god or intelligent being sprinkling sugar on the planet from the outside.

What could cause rain to have a high concentration of simple carbohydrates?

posted almost 7 years ago

Dubukay‭

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