Global climate strike in pictures

The first strike of the day kicked off in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. Islanders have worked hard in recent years to protect the vital coral reefs that surround the archipelago. However, rising sea levels are placing every island nation in peril.

Students in the Solomon Islands, which comprises hundreds of islands in the South Pacific, skipped school on Friday morning to call attention to how climate breakdown threatens their country.

The first major protests of the day started in Australia, where demonstrators want the government and businesses to commit to a target of zero net carbon emissions by 2030. More broadly, they are seeking for world leaders to commit to real change at an upcoming UN Climate Action Summit.

Thai students joined the global movement outside of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment in Bangkok. Thailand, as part of the Mekong River basin, has already felt the effects of catastrophic flooding and coastal erosin.

Demonstrators gathered in Palangka Raya, on the Indonesnian island of Borneo, which is currently covered in smog from forest fires. Borneo is already feeling the devastation from deforestation due to palm oil farming, which has hurt the local human populations as well as dramatically reduce the habitat for orangutans.

Bangladeshi school students and other climate activists took to the streets of the capital Dhaka. Bangladesh is a major hub for the garment industry, which on top of forcing workers into sweatshop conditions, is one of the most polluting industries on earth.

An estimated 100,000 people joined a climate rally in the government district in central London. Similar marches were held in dozens of other European cities, including Paris, Stockholm and Helsinki.

Protesters got started before dawn in Germany, with demonstrations planned for almost every major city. Here in Frankfurt, climate strikers blocked rush hour traffic in the city's central Baseler Platz, unperturbed by the chorus of car horns.

Students in the Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic, called on their leaders to lower carbon emissions and enact better climate protection. The Prague demonstration was one of 5,000 planned around the world.

Activists in Nairobi, Kenya, called for an end to the government's plans to open new coal mines. They want more support for renewable energy sources across the country.

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who started the worldwide climate strike movement, led a major demonstration in New York City. Tens of thousands of people filled Lower Manhattan to march with the 16-year-old from Foley Square to Battery Park. "I hope this will be another social tipping point that we show how many people are engaged," she told Agence-France Presse.