Fridays for Future protests — live updates

• Students in Asia and Australia have kicked off protests
• Climate strikes are planned in more than 3,000 locations around the world
• Activist Greta Thunberg has vowed to keep up the pressure "for as long as it takes"

All times in GMT/UTC  

06:57 Protests are set to take place in more than 450 cities and towns across Germany.

Several thousand people are expected to attend a sit-in at Berlin's Brandenburg gate, with organizers urging demonstrators to keep their distance and wear masks.

Protesting cyclists are also expected to ride through the capital in groups.

A planned rally at Munich's Theresienwiese  — home of the famed Oktoberfest — has been capped at 500 participants.

Read more: Opinion: Global climate strikers take on inactive leaders

06:35 Students across Asia — from Japan and South Korea to the Philippines and Bangladesh — are joining the climate strike.

These South Korean protesters, wearing face masks to protect themselves from coronavirus infection, gathered near the government complex in Seoul to make their voices heard: 

05:55 Students across Australia kicked off Friday's day of climate action, with more than 500 events across the country.

"The pandemic hasn't slowed us down," 17-year-old Sydney protest organizer Veronica Hester told the German press agency dpa.

The student protest in Sydney's city center was much smaller than the huge crowds seen in last year's strikes

Gatherings were limited to smaller groups in line with COVID-19 rules. 

In Sydney's city center, protesters chanted "The youth are rising! No more compromising!" and waved held up posters urging Prime Minister Scott Morrison to move away from coal and gas and invest in clean energy.

Climate activist Ambrose Hayes, 15, rides on a barge in Sydney Harbor as part of a protest against investment in gas

05:45 The coronavirus pandemic came as a blow for climate protesters, forcing them to move their activism online.

Although students are returning to the streets, Friday's global strike is taking place with strict social distancing and hygiene measures in place, and won't come close to last year's mass demonstrations. Will the Fridays for Future movement be able to bounce back after the pandemic? Read more here. 

05:30 Young people in cities around the world are joining a global strike for the climate. 

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who began the school strike movement known as Fridays for Future, tweeted: "We will be back next week, next month and next year. For as long as it takes."

nm/rt