Weatherwatch: the new forests helping to clean our atmosphere

Carbon is being locked in young trees as a result of reforestation across the northern hemisphere

When measures designed to curb climate change have a beneficial effect and result in a greener planet, it is cheering. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been on a relentless upward trend but things would be far worse if countries in the northern hemisphere were not planting forests and restoring natural habitats. Measurements taken over 60 years of the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the growing season show that, north of the equator, plants are absorbing more carbon than they used to.

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