Saudi Arabia had issued warnings on Monday, warning of a temperature spike in Mecca as Muslim pilgrims marked the end of up hajj in deadly conditions. Already, over a dozen heat-related deaths have been confirmed.
The hajj pilgrimage is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings held in Saudi Arabia annually, but for this year, the oven-like temperatures have led to more than 2,700 confirmed cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone, according to the Saudi health ministry.
The Saudi weather service had on Monday, announced that the temperatures had reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) at Mecca’s Grand Mosque. This is a place where pilgrims circling the Kaaba (the large black cubic structure towards which all Muslims pray.)
The Saudi health ministry had announced in a statement that 2,764 cases of heat exhaustion recorded on Sunday were due to sun exposure and “non-compliance with set guidelines”. This guidelines included taking shelter from the sun during the afternoon, carrying an umbrella and hydrating regularly.
On Sunday, Jordan’s foreign ministry revealed that 14 nationals had succumbed “after suffering sun stroke due to the extreme heat wave.” The nation’s foreign ministry also revealed that 17 other citizens were still “missing” at this time.
Iran had also reported the deaths of five pilgrims but it did not specify the cause of death. On the other hand, Senegal’s foreign ministry announced that three nationals had died.
A health ministry official from Indonesia who is currently in Saudi Arabia, had disclosed that 136 Indonesian pilgrims had died during the hajj.
The hajj is now increasingly affected by climate change and going by a Saudi report published in Mat, the regional temperatures will only keep rising by 0.4C each decade.
This year’s hajj drew around 1.8 million pilgrims, out if which 1.6 million of them were from overseas.
The health ministry has said it would closely monitor cases of heat exhaustion and ensure pilgrims “can complete their hajj journey in full health”.
