The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported "the biggest (increase) we've ever seen" in the level of carbon dioxide in the air last April. A major greenhouse gas, CO2 is the main culprit in global warming and the acidification of the oceans.

NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii revealed the amount of heat-trapping CO2 in the atmosphere jumped by the biggest amount on record in April, a result that was helped on by El Niño. Carbon dioxide levels rose by 4.16 parts per million in April compared to April 2015.

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Before this, the biggest increase was 3.7 ppm, according to records that go back to 1950. Last April's CO2 level was a record 2.59 ppm rise from March.

NOAA also said he warming influence of CO2 rose by 50 percent globally over the last two and a half decades when compared to pre-industrial levels. Its 10th Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) compares global greenhouse gas emissions to levels prior to the Industrial Revolution.

The global average CO2 concentration for 2015 reached 399 parts per million, way beyond the 278 ppm just prior to the Industrial Revolution. In 2015 alone, atmospheric CO2 increased 3 ppm, according to the AGGI.

A separate NOAA report found April was the 12^th consecutive warmest month on record for the Earth.

CO2 levels traditionally peak in May and then drop until autumn. These levels when added to a steady 2.5 ppm to 3 ppm yearly increase from burning fossil fuels annually means each year the world sets new record for levels of CO2 in the air.

"We're dialing up Earth's thermostat in a way that will lock more heat into the ocean and atmosphere for thousands of years," said Jim Butler, director of NOAA's Global Monitoring Division.

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions worsened global warming by 37 percent over the last 25 years, said NOAA. While the increase in CO2 emissions isn't the only factor in global warming, there's a high certainty among scientists the rise will continue to warm the planet more and more.

It's a process NOAA compared to warming-up an electric blanket.

AGGI also found other gases are contributing the equivalent of another 85 ppm of carbon dioxide each year or 21 percent of the 399 ppm measured for 2015.

Tagscarbon dioxide, CO2, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Mauna Loa Observatory, Annual Greenhouse Gas Index, El Nino