Washington - Activists in India and Ukraine used their bodies. In Kashmir, they used boats.

The message climate activists spelled out around the world on Saturday was the number 350 - a message they wanted to engrave in the minds of world governments about global warming as nations prepare to convene in Copenhagen in December on the issue.

The number represents the goal by some climate scientists to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air to 350 parts per million, down from the current level of 387.

Activists organized under the name "350. org" say that if the gas concentration exceeds that amount for too long, global warming will cause sea levels to rise, and drought and famine to plague the Earth.

World governments are to meet in December in Denmark to map out the next steps to control carbon emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. But the world's two largest emitters - the US and China - are dragging their feet about any new agreement.

On Saturday, US media reported that US President Barack Obama is not likely to attend the climate conference, as had been earlier reported.

Obama is "leaning toward not going," a senior administration official told Fox News. A major reason is that the climate conference is not a "head of state" event.

The Washington insider publication The Hill said Obama will not attend because the conference conflicts with Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Olso. Senior White House officials told The Hill that Obama could use that speech to speak about the subject.

On Friday, Obama said he was confident that Congress can pass legislation aimed at curbing greenhouse-gas emissions, but would not say whether this can be done before December's critical summit in Copenhagen.

Obama noted that some prominent Republicans have voiced support for a cap-and-trade bill that would put a price on carbon emissions, the chief greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

Democratic Congressman Bob Filner Saturday urged Obama to attend the meetings. He said he planned to circulate a letter next week calling on Obama to push for the 350 parts-per-million limit, The Hill reported.

The 350. org protestors - formally called the International Day of Climate Action - included Indian students at Marina beach, Chennai, who built a human pyramid holding signs with "350" written on them.

In Kiev, Ukrainian activists formed a giant 350 figure during an ecological rally, the European Press Photo Agency (epa) reported.

In Kashmir, owners of traditional Kashmiri boats formed the number 350 on Dal Lake, near Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.

Organizers said that more than 4,000 events were planned in 170 countries, and thousands of photos were pouring into their website documenting similar actions. (dpa)