Carbon dioxide levels passed the 400 parts-per-million mark on January 1st, the earliest time of the year ever recorded, which is further evidence of increased global warming.

2015 was the first year in history where carbon dioxide levels reached 400 parts per million on January 1st, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Ralph Keeling, the scientist monitoring CO2 levels in Hawaii, predicts that the high reading may be January trend, as it happened again on the 3rd and 7th.

While the number doesn’t indicate a spike in output, the 400 mark is considered a symbolic indicator of the significant accelleration of global warming.

As carbon dioxide gas traps heat in the atmosphere, the more there is, the higher temperatures rise.

The 400 parts per million threshold was first reached on May 9, 2013 and has since been occurring with increasing frequency.

Before the industrial period, CO2 concentrations measured more around the 280 mark.

As this number has risen along