A march to raise awareness about the dangers of climate change drew thousands to the streets of New York City Sunday, with similar protests taking place around the world.

More than 300,000 people marched through the streets of NY in what organizers called the largest climate-change demonstration in history.

With banners, flags, floats and drums, protesters at the "People's Climate March" overwhelmed midtown Manhattan, demanding action ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit this week.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, former US vice president Al Gore, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, musician Sting and actors Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio joined thousands of protesters at the march.

Ricken Patel, executive director of activist group Avaaz, which organized the march, said: "The march numbers are beating our wildest expectations. In 2,500 marches from Paris to Bogota, we've blown past expected numbers. Climate change is not a green issue anymore, it's an everybody issue," the Telegraph reports.

There were some consistent themes among protesters — calling climate change a human-rights problem, marching to save the planet for future generations, a frustration with consumerism and large corporations.

Around 40,000 people including Emma Thompson, the actress, designer Dame Vivienne Westwood and musician Peter Gabriel took part in a similar march in London while a climate change protest in Melbourne, Australia attracted a crowd of 10,000.