The global climate strike is inspired by the 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
Hundreds of thousands of students and workers left their schools, colleges and offices on Friday to take to the streets around the world and demand that world leaders take urgent measures to avoid an environmental catastrophe.
The global climate strike, inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 16, began on the Pacific Islands and followed the rising sun in Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia and then in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
It will culminate in New York when Thunberg, who has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, will lead a demonstration at the headquarters of the United Nations, where the heads of government will meet for a climate summit next week.
"It's about my future, not just my future, but the future of all my generation and all the generations that will come after ours," said 16-year-old Tristan Vancleef, among some 15,000 protesters who marched through downtown Brussels .
The banners in the Brussels march included "Great kids save the hot planet", "I won't go to school until they cool it" and "If it melts it ruins."
Protesters call on governments to take immediate measures to limit the harmful effects of man-made climate change.
Social media posts showed dozens of demonstrations, from a few dozen elementary school children in Abuja, Nigeria, to tens of thousands of people in cities in Hamburg, in Germany; to Melbourne, Australia; Kabul, Afghanistan; Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi among 26 cities in Pakistan; and the main cities of India.
"Our future on his shoulders," said a banner spread on a street by students in Berlin.
"Our oceans are rising, so are we," was a popular slogan on posters, including one wearing a student wearing a school uniform in Melbourne and another wearing a girl with a face mask in Calcutta, in eastern India.
Students participate in the Climate March in Lahore. – APPeople pose for a photograph during the Global Climate Strike March in Istanbul, Turkey. – AFPA student poses for a photograph during the Global March of the Climate Strike at Foley Square in New York. – AFPStudents pose for a photograph during the Global March of the Climate Strike at Foley Square in New York.— AFPActivists make a death as part of the Global Climate Strike in Budapest, Hungary, on September 20, 2019. – ReutersYoung protesters march as part of the global climate strike of the Friday for the Future movement in Vienna, Austria. – ReutersActivists participate in a demonstration demanding action on climate change in Bucharest, Romania, on September 20, 2019. – ReutersYoung people hold banners in Islamabad as they march through a climate strike to protest against government inaction towards climate collapse and environmental pollution.Young people hold banners in Islamabad as they march through a climate strike to protest against government inaction towards climate collapse. – AFPThe citizens of Islamabad take to the streets to make a climate strike to protest against government inaction towards climate collapse.Young people participate in a march in Islamabad for a climate strike to protest against government inaction towards climate collapse.Another student holds a sign during the Global March of the Climate Strike at Foley Square in New York.1 AFPActivists gather at John Marshall Park for Global Climate Strike protests in Washington, United States. – AFPProtesters stand in blocks of ice while standing under the gallows during the "Friday for the Future" rally at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to protest climate action. – AFPProtesters carry a giant inflatable balloon with the words: "There is no planet B" during a protest over climate action in Berlin.— AFPA protester smiles during a demonstration for climate protection in Abuja, Nigeria on September 20, 2019. – ReutersActivists participate in a demonstration demanding action on climate change in Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 20, 2019. – ReutersA child carries a sign when activists participate in a demonstration as part of the Global Climate Strike in lower Manhattan in New York.Young activists and their supporters come together to act on climate change in New York City. – AFPYoung activists and their supporters come together to act on climate change in New York City. – AFPStudents hold banners during a climate protest in Dublin on Friday, September 20, 2019. – APActivists participate in a demonstration demanding action on climate change in Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 20, 2019. – ReutersPeople hold banners during the demonstration on climate change in Zagreb, Croatia, on September 20, 2019. – ReutersA young protester holds a sign that says "There is no planet B" while participating in a demonstration of "Friday for the future" that calls for climate action on the streets of Warsaw.Protesters sit with banners during the march of the global climate strike on September 20, 2019 in Thies, Senegal. – AFPA girl holds a doll next to a banner that says "Ecological Fusion" during a protest over climate change in Bucharest, Romania. – AP.People hold banners during the global climate strike at Raadhuspladsen in Copenhagen, Denmark. – ReutersActivists attend an environmental demonstration, part of the Global Climate Strike, in St. Petersburg, Russia.— ReutersStudents applaud during a protest organized by the US youth climate strike. UU. On the outskirts of Miami Beach City Hall, as part of a world day of climate action. – APChildren hold signs while participating in a demonstration as part of the Global Climate Strike in Manhattan in New York. – ReutersStudents and activists hold banners with messages while participating in a Global Climate Strike demonstration in New Delhi, India. – ReutersYoung people participate in a protest organized by & # 39; Friday for the Future of Vienna & # 39; at Heldenplatz in Vienna, Austria.— AFPPeople participate in a protest over climate action as part of a global climate action day in Abuja.— AFPA woman sings slogans against the recent forest fires, during a global protest on climate change in La Paz, Bolivia.— APPeople attend a demonstration on climate change in London, Great Britain, on September 20, 2019. – ReutersClimate protesters demonstrate in London on Friday, September 20, 2019. – APClimate protesters demonstrate in front of the Downing Street gate in London.An environmental activist from Japan (C) performs an act during a demonstration against government inaction towards climate collapse and environmental pollution in India. – AFPPeople participate in a protest over climate action on September 20, 2019 in Maastricht. – AFP
