On October 8, 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report (SR15) which confirms that keeping global temperatures from increasing below 1.5 degrees C is critical.
According to the report: "Human–induced warming has already reached about 1°C above pre-industrial levels at the time of writing of this Special Report. By the decade 2006–2015, human activity had warmed the world by 0.87°C (±0.12°C) compared pre-industrial times (1850–1900). If the current warming rate continues, the world would reach human–induced global warming of 1.5°C around 2040."