Students have joined school strikes around the world demanding that politicians take urgent action on climate change.

Students take part in a global school strike for climate change outside the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA)

In the UK, walkouts have taken place in more than 100 towns and cities, driven by what students say is “an alarming lack of government leadership on climate action”.

Students in Canterbury as protests are planned in 100 towns and cities in the UK (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The global day of action has been inspired by teenager Greta Thunberg, who protests every Friday outside Sweden’s parliament to urge leaders to tackle climate change.

Climate change protest
Parliament Square in London was packed (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

A poll ahead of the walkouts suggests a majority of the British public support UK students who first ditched lessons and lectures for demonstrations on February 15 to call for greater climate action.

(Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
(Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

The climate change protests were taking place across the globe.

A woman takes part in a march during a demonstration to call for strengthened measures against global warming in Tokyo (Jun Hirata/Kyodo News via AP)
Students take part in a protest against climate change in Aarhus, Denmark (Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Students and activists join a demonstration in Manila, Philippines (Aaron Favila/AP)
Students gather in Rome (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Students participate in a climate protest at Stortorget in Lund, Sweden (Johan Nilsson /TT News Agency via AP)
Students in Cape Town, South Africa (Nasief Manie/AP)
Pupils take to the Paris streets (Francois Mori/AP)