Royal state TV reported on Tuesday that scores of crowded travellers fought through the sweltering heat that has claimed life during the monthly Haj trip in the color of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
According to the Jordanian foreign ministry, six Jordanian people died from heat strokes during Haj. Eventually, it stated that the death toll had increased to 14, but it provided no justification for the following incidents.
On Tuesday, Iranian state media outlet IRINN reported that without specifying the cause of death, 24 Iranians died and 24 were taken to hospitals during the trip.
Three African people likewise died during Haj, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, said on Monday.
An Indonesian health official reported on Monday that one hundred and thirty-six Indian people perished during the Haj, three of whom died from temperature stroke.
Stampedes, camp fires and other injuries have caused hundreds of deaths during Haj in the past 30 times, forcing the Arabian government to build new facilities. The government now face fresh difficulties in shielding travellers from severe heat.
According to a 2024 review by the Journal of Travel and Medicine, as global temperatures rise, worsening warmth may outweigh mitigation measures, and a 2019 review by the Geophysical Research Letters predicted that as temperatures rise in now parched Saudi Arabia as a result of climate change, pilgrims performing the Haj will be in “extreme danger.”
Millions of Muslims travel to Mecca annually on a pilgrimage to observe the religious rites that the Prophet Mohammad taught to his followers 14 centuries ago.
Saudi officials told Reuters that Saudi authorities had not observed any unusual deaths among Muslim pilgrims performing the holy rites in extremely hot weather.
” We have n’t noticed, thank God, any abnormal or deviation from the normal numbers of morbidities and mortalities”, said Jameel Abualenain, head of the Health Ministry’s emergencies directorate, said.
The ministry had so far treated more than 2, 700 pilgrims who suffered from heat related illness, he added.
An Egyptian pilgrim told Reuters on Sunday,” Haj is a difficult task, so you have to exert efforts and perform the rituals even in the heat and crowding.”
Saudi authorities have issued a warning to pilgrims to stay hydrated and avoid being outdoors during the day’s hottest hours between 11 a.m. ( 0800 GMT ) and 3 p.m.
Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it has a once-in-a-lifetime duty to observe the Haj, one of the largest mass gatherings in the world. It will end on Wednesday.
More than 1.8 million pilgrims were scheduled to participate in this year, according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics.
