Riyadh: The intense heat has caused the death toll of patients and Hajj pilgrims under treatment to exceed 1,000 over the past two days.
According to Arab media, more than half of the recent deaths were unregistered pilgrims, with the majority being Egyptian nationals. The total death toll has reached 1,081, with 658 from Egypt, 630 of whom were unregistered.
Saudi Arabia’s National Meteorological Center reported that temperatures in Makkah had reached 51.8 degrees Celsius, and over 500 bodies were brought to the city’s largest morgue.
Among the deceased, there are 658 Egyptians, nearly 200 Indonesians, over 100 Jordanians, 31 Iranians, 35 Pakistanis, five from occupied Kashmir, and 3 from Senegal.
A declaration from the Saudi Embassy mentioned that this year’s Hajj noticed a full-size rise in temperatures in Makkah. Many visitors arrived on visitor or go-to visas without the proper Hajj permits, which left them without access to motels, meals, and transportation provided by authorized businesses or institutions.
The scorching sun often forced these visitors to walk long distances in areas not designated for pedestrians. Contributing to the high number of fatalities. The Saudi Embassy emphasized that these pilgrims performed Hajj without essential facilities, leading to severe heat exposure.
It is noteworthy that last year, various countries reported over 300 deaths during Hajj, mostly Indonesian pilgrims.
The timing of Hajj moves back by roughly 11 days each year in the Gregorian calendar. So next year’s Hajj will fall in early June, which will potentially be cooler days.
A 2019 study in the diary Geophysical Research Letters warned that due to climate change. The heat stress for pilgrims will exceed “extreme danger” levels between 2047-2052 and 2079-2086.
