Saudi Arabia warned Monday of extreme temperatures in Mecca, where more than a dozen heat-related deaths have been confirmed at the major Muslim pilgrimage.
This annual rite, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, took place again this year in summer, a particularly hot season in Saudi Arabia.
Extreme heat
More than 2,700 cases of“heat exhaustion” were recorded for Sunday alone, indicated the Ministry of Health at the end of the great pilgrimage. On Monday, temperatures were expected to reach up to 49 degrees Celsius in Mecca, Islam’s first holy city in the west of the country, where pilgrims were completing the hajj.
Some went around the Kabaa, a cubic construction in the center of the Great Mosque, while others completed the ritual of stoning Satan in the valley near Mina, in front of steles symbolizing the devil on which they threw stones.
“The holy places today record the highest temperatures since the start of the hajj which can reach 49 degrees, and we advise God’s guests not to expose themselves to the sun”, said the Ministry of Health, according to state television channel El-Ekhbariya. Saudi Weather reported on X that the temperature reached 51.8 degrees in Mecca.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that 14 Jordanian pilgrims had died “after suffering sunstroke due to the extreme heat wave”and that 17 others were “missing”.
Tehran reported the deaths of five Iranian pilgrims, without specifying the cause of their deaths, while Dakar said three Senegalese pilgrims had also died.
“Prevention is important, and pilgrims should not go out during the hottest hours, unless necessary, or use an umbrella”underlined the Saudi Ministry of Health in a press release cited by El-Ekhbariya.
“Our health instructions for the days to come are clear and simple: carry an umbrella, drink water regularly and avoid exposure to the sun”, he added. This year, the hajj attracted around 1.8 million pilgrims, including 1.6 million from abroad, according to Saudi authorities.
“Very difficult day”
On Monday, in Mina, pilgrims sprinkled their heads with water while authorities distributed cold drinks and chocolate ice creams which melted quickly. Azza Hamid Brahim, a 61-year-old Egyptian woman, said she saw motionless bodies on the side of the road as she walked to and from the steles depicting Satan.
“It seemed like the Last Judgment, the end of the world”. “It was a very difficult day. We said to ourselves: ‘It’s over, we’re going to die’ because of the heatwave”she told AFP.
Arzu Farhaj, from Pakistan, said she struggled to find help for a woman who was lying on the side of the road. “She had no one. And people passed by” indifferent, she explained. “We asked security to call an ambulance or something, but there was no such thing”.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and Muslims who can afford it must perform it at least once in their lives. It is a source of prestige and legitimacy for Saudi Arabia, whose king bears the title of “Guardian of the two holy mosques” of Mecca and Medina.
In a message on Sunday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, said his country had a duty to “do everything to help the faithful carry out their worship in complete safety and assurance”.
