Youngsters and adults alike chanted slogans and waved placards in demonstrations that started in Asia and the Pacific, spread across Africa, Europe and Latin America, before culminating in the United States where Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg rallied.
Australia
Some of the first rallies were held in Sydney and Canberra. Australian demonstrators called for their nation to take more drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Organisers estimated more than 300,000 protesters took to Australian streets in what would be the largest demonstrations in the country since the Iraq War began in 2003.
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Antarctica
A small group of researchers stationed on the icy continent even took part in the global protests.
France
In Paris, teenagers walked out of classrooms to join calls for coordinated government action on climate change.
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United States
In New York's Battery Park, tens of thousands of supporters gave Greta Thunberg a rock-star reception, chanting her name as she called on leaders to act now to curb gas emissions.
India
Dozens of students and environmental activists gathered in the capital demanding immediate action. They assembled outside the ministry of housing and urban affairs in New Delhi. They chanted slogans like "We want climate action" and "I want to breathe clean", and carried banners with messages like "There is no earth B" and "Eco, not ego!"
Germany
In Berlin, organisers said 80,000 people gathered in front of the capital's landmark Brandenburg Gate, not far from Chancellor Angela Merkel's office where the cabinet was thrashing out the final details of a plan to curb Germany's greenhouse gas emissions. Police said several dozen activists also blocked a road in the heart of Frankfurt. Organisers said more than 500 events were planned across Germany.
Philippines
Dozens of activists marched in Manila to honour the memory of activists in the Philippines who were killed for defending the environment. They marched to the offices of the environment and natural resources Department, then staged a "die-in" protest while holding a banner saying "Stop the killings. Defend the environment defenders now!" A separate rally organised by student groups gathered in the afternoon at the state university.
Afghanistan
About 100 young people, with several young women in the front carrying a banner emblazoned with "Fridays for future", marched through central Kabul, following an armoured personnel carrier deployed for their protection as well as half a dozen army personnel behind them and along the route.
Czech Republic
Thousands of students gathered in the Old Town Square in Prague, waving banners that read "More love, less coal", "Science, not silence" and "Why should we go to universities when they don't listen to the educated?" before marching through the city. In neighbouring Slovakia, President Zuzana Caputova has thrown her weight behind thousands of students rallying in four major cities, including the capital of Bratislava.
