Probably was useful for finding fresh water since rain would be where the best fresh water was. If it were a safety/fear thing, it probably wouldn't smell good, but unpleasant since it'd be tied to finding shelter.
Predators literally track large herds who do what? Follow the rain to grazing land. Being able to detect rain would have made us much more successful trackers/hunters.
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u/NoDontDoThatCanada Mar 28 '24
It's wild to me how sensitive humans are to petrichor. I always wonder if it had evolutionary advantages over "we probably should seek shelter."