The 20 people arrested for closing down the Bloor Viaduct on Monday as part of a global climate change protest have all been charged with mischief, Toronto police say.

Ten men and 10 women, between the ages of 22 and 72, were arrested.

The protest Monday was organized by a group called Extinction Rebellion, also known as XR. Organizers say it’s a decentralized movement based in the U.K. with chapters in around 50 countries. They continued disrupting traffic in cities around the world Tuesday to call attention to the urgency of climate change.

In Toronto, the protesters shut down the Bloor Viaduct to traffic from Monday morning during rush hour until around 2 p.m., apologizing for the inconvenience but warning the disturbances would only get worse if the world doesn’t act on climate change.

Many held colourful banners with the rebellion’s stylized hourglass symbol, painting on the road and singing Beatles songs.

Lines of irate drivers formed at the closed bridge for hours before police started making arrests.

After warning a group sitting on the ground in front of giant letters spelling out the words “Act Now,” officers handcuffed the 20 protesters and took them away in a police van as a crowd around them chanted “let them go.”

Scientists agree that 2020 is a make-it or break-it year in terms of meeting emissions targets to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.

An October 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that in order to keep the Earth from warming no more than 1.5 C above per-industrial levels, as opposed to two degrees, global emissions of greenhouse gases would need to fall to net-zero by 2050. The difference of half a degree is monumental and would have catastrophic impacts.

In Montreal Tuesday, three members of the Extinction Rebellion scaled the Jacques Cartier Bridge, closing it to traffic for most of rush hour. Quebec provincial police say the two women and one man were arrested.

Hundreds of activists camped out in central London for a second day of global action.

The group tweeted Tuesday: “We’re shutting down cities — not because it’s fun (though it can be), but because it’s our last option for stopping this toxic system in its tracks. Our world is dying; to save it, we’ll need everyone — wherever and whoever you are — to do your bit.”

Correction - October 10, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the age range of the men and women who were arrested by Toronto police as being between 22 and 67. Incorrect information was provided by Toronto police.

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With files from The Canadian Press and Associated Press

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