As it turns out, potentially a lot. Limiting average global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century was the aspirational goal adopted in the Paris Agreement of 2015 with the actionable target being set at 2 degrees Celsius. But a review of country pledges and their impact showed that the world was not going to come anywhere close to meeting the 2-degree objective. Cut to the recently-concluded COP26 meet in Glasgow and world leaders were urged to commit to unprecedented steps for aggressively chasing the 1.5-degree goal. How Much Hotter Is The Earth Already? Ahead of the COP26 meet, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had warned that while emissions cut would need to range between 25-45 per cent globally by 2030 over 2010 levels if the world were to achieve the Paris temperature target, what countries have cumulatively pledged would only cut greenhouse gasses back by around 12 per cent. Failure to check em...