World's 'oldest' tree able to reveal planet's secrets

Antonio Lara, a researcher from the laboratory of the Faculty of Science and Climate of the Austral University, looks at larch trees at the Alerce Costero National Park in Valdivia, Chile, on April 10, 2023. (Photo: AFP)

In a forest in southern Chile, a giant tree has survived for thousands of years and is in the process of being recognised as the oldest in the world.

Known as the "Great Grandfather," the trunk of this tree measuring four metres (13 feet) in diameter and 28 metres tall is also believed to contain scientific information that could shed light on how the planet has adapted to climatic changes.