Australian schoolchildren suffering from climate “despair” walked out of classes to stage protests against global warming, presenting “sick notes” written by self-proclaimed “climate doctors”.

Thousands of children skipped class to take part in rallies known as School Strike 4 Climate in cities across the country, from Sydney and Melbourne to Adelaide and Perth.

The sick notes, which children downloaded from the internet, said they were suffering from symptoms including “feelings of despair”, “increased anxiety” and “elevated stress” because of  the climate crisis.

The Climate Doctor’s Certificate was written and signed by three Australian climate scientists: David Karoly, Nick Abel and Lesley Hughes.

The certificates said children should be allowed to “take a sick day for a sick planet”.

It is the fifth year that schoolchildren across Australia have taken part in the School Strike 4 Climate event, which originated in Sweden.

“If we continue this way, none of us are going to have a future, none of our children are going to have futures,” a 14-year-old pupil called Arielle told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Australia has been struck by a series of extreme weather events in recent years, which have been blamed partly on climate change and partly on the weather phenomena known as La Nina and El Nino.

As the southern hemisphere summer approaches, the country is bracing for more bushfires and heatwaves.

Australian governments have been criticised internationally for their lacklustre response to the climate crisis and a reluctance to lower emissions.

‘I want our kids at school’

Jason Clare, the federal minister for education, said he disapproved of the climate strike.

“I want our kids to be passionate, I want our kids to care about democracy and I want our kids to care about the future, but I also want our kids at school.”

In Sydney, children marched on the office of Tanya Plibersek, the federal environment minister, shouting “shame”.

She has approved several new oil and gas projects since the centre-Left Labor government came to power in May 2022.

“We are striking against the Australian Federal Government’s approval of nine fossil fuel projects and the A$9 billion dollars’ worth of subsidies handed out to the fossil fuel industry,” the School Strike 4 Climate group wrote on their website.