peer reviewed ; We began making CO2 measurements in Belgian caves in 1966. Analyses were conducted in cave halls, galleries, fissures and shafts, in various seasons and at different levels above the floors of the conduits, and in the absence or presence of other human beings. Our first results were published in 1968. From that time on, we have carried out studies in Poland, Quebec, China and other countries but we have focused most of our work in Belgium. We have discovered over these forty years of study, a strong increase in the observed values of CO2 in Belgian caves. For example, a few of our observations follow. “Trou Joney” (Comblain-au-Pont, province of Liege) is a small and shallow cave. We measured at the central point of the main gallery, 1870 ppm CO2 in July 1966, and 13800 ppm at the same location in July 2007. At the bottom of the shaft of the “Comblain-au Pont” cave, we measured 600 ppm in July 1966 and found 1500 ppm in July 2008. In “La Merveilleuse” cave (Dinant, province of Namur), we measured 800 ppm at the central point of the Big Hall in August 1990, rising to 1700 ppm in August 2008. In the main gallery of the “Fontaine de Rivire” cave (Hamoir, province of Liege), we found 5000 ppm in August 1972, increasing to 9400 ppm in 2008. We conclude that the CO2 content of the atmospheres of many caves in Belgium at least, is very sharply getting higher. The increase is very variable, but omnipresent. Are our measurements significant? We believe that we have validated our instruments and our methods. The increase is probably not a result of local industrial activities. The CO2 curves of Mauna Loa Observatory (Hawaii) and “Mace Head” (Ireland) both show an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide during the last half century. However, the upsurge of CO2 observed in the caves is much greater than the increase in those well-known surface measurements. There is a very complex interrelationship between temperature, vegetation and biomass activity, and CO2 in the soil and underground. The increase of any ...