Carbon dioxide levels have surged past 400 parts per million for long periods of time in recent years.

(NOAA)

The warming influence of carbon dioxide has risen by 50 percent globally over the last two and a half decades when compared to pre-industrial levels, NOAA's 10th Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) has found.

The index compares global greenhouse gas emissions to levels prior to the Industrial Revolution, according to a NOAA news release. The global average carbon dioxide concentration for 2015 reached 399 parts per million, well above the 278 ppm just prior to the Industrial Revolution. In 2015 alone, atmospheric carbon dioxide increased 3 ppm, the report also found.

The news comes on the heels of a separate NOAA report that found April was the 12th consecutive warmest month on record for the planet.

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

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The increase in greenhouse gas emissions has turned up the warming influence by 37 percent over the last 25 years, NOAA also said. While the increase in carbon dioxide emissions isn't the only factor that contributes to global warming, there's a high certainty among scientists that the rise will continue to warm the planet more and more.

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

"Just as the dial does not tell you exactly how hot you will get, the AGGI does not predict how much Earth’s climate will warm," said the NOAA report. "You do know, however, that if the dial is turned up a little, the blanket will get warmer – and not immediately. If you turn it up a lot, you know the blanket will get a lot warmer – eventually."

The report also found other gases are contributing to the equivalent of another 85 ppm of carbon dioxide each year– 21 percent of the 399 ppm measured for 2015.

“Climate is driven by complex systems and our ability to predict future climate impacts comes from complex models,” Butler said. “This isn’t a model. These are precise and accurate measurements, and they tell us about how humans are changing the balance of heat in the Earth system.”

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