Deadly Heat Killed Nearly 1,000 Worshippers in Hajj Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia

(Photo : Getty Images/AFP)

This year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has claimed the lives of over a thousand pilgrims, and recent days have seen a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius in Mecca.

Hajj Pilgrimage

Some 1.8 million Muslims have participated in the multi-day, primarily outdoor pilgrimage, which is mandatory for all Muslims to complete at least once in their lifetime.

The official death toll from the annual pilgrimage has not yet been released by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, although sources indicate that 1,081 deaths have been reported from about ten different nations.

At least 165 Indonesians, 68 Jordanians, 35 Pakistanis, 35 Tunisians, and 11 Iranians have died, according to authorities in each country.

According to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, another 22 Jordanians are in hospitals, while 16 are still unaccounted for. The Iranian Red Crescent reported that dozens of Iranians have also been admitted to hospitals for heatstroke and other conditions.

At the Emergency Complex in the Al-Muaisem neighborhood of Mecca, hundreds of people waited in line to claim the bodies of their loved ones and inquire about the whereabouts of their missing relatives.

Although pilgrim deaths are not unusual-more than 200 pilgrims died the year before-this year's event is being held in unusually hot weather.

Over 2,400 pilgrims perished in the deadliest Hajj stampede that has ever occurred in Mina. Saudi Arabia has never officially confirmed the full death toll from the catastrophe.

According to the Islamic calendar, the Hajj season varies annually, and this year it fell in June, which is one of the hottest months in the kingdom.

The Hajj will take place in April 2029 and will fall in the winter the following few years due to cooler weather.

Rising Temperature

Temperatures in the region are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius, or a little less than one degree Fahrenheit, every ten years, according to a Saudi study that was released last month.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims seek to complete the hajj through unofficial means each year since they are unable to pay the sometimes expensive official visas. Earlier this month, Saudi authorities announced that hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims had been cleared from Mecca; yet, it seems that many continued to participate in the main rituals, which started last Friday.

Because they were unable to enter the air-conditioned areas that Saudi authorities had provided for the 1.8 million authorized pilgrims to cool off after hours of walking and praying outside, this group was more susceptible to the heat.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from low-income countries travel to do the Hajj; many of them risk their lives to complete the pilgrimage, and diseases can spread among the masses.

The "stoning of the devil" ceremony was discouraged by Saudi Arabia for pilgrims between specific hours as temperatures rose to an extraordinary 49 degrees Celsius.

Hajj organizers have encouraged pilgrims to bring umbrellas and plenty of water due to the harsh weather. In addition, the Saudi army has dispatched more than 1,600 personnel, comprising 30 rapid response teams and medical units specifically designed to address heatstroke. Five thousand more volunteers are offering first aid and health care.