Over 1300 people perished during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, as the faithful endured scorching temperatures at Islamic holy

More than 1,300 people perished during this year’s Hajj trip in Saudi Arabia due to exceptionally high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert nation, Saudi authorities revealed on Sunday.

According to Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, 83% of the 1,301 deaths were caused by illegal pilgrims who trekked, long distances in sweltering heat to complete Hajj ceremonies in and around Mecca.

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‘Speaking to state-owned television, the minister claimed 95 pilgrims were being treated at hospitals, with some of them being airlifted for treatment The capital is Riyadh.’ He stated that the ‘identification process was delayed because many of the deceased pilgrims lacked identification documents.’

More than 660 Egyptians died. According to two Cairo officials, all but 31 were unlicensed pilgrims. ‘Egypt has canceled the licenses of 16 travel businesses that assisted unlawful ‘pilgrims’ in traveling to Saudi Arabia, authorities said.’

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to inform journalists, said the majority of the dead were found inside the Emergency Complex in Mecca’s Al-Muaisem district. Egypt dispatched around 50,000 permitted pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year.

Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca

On June 19, 2024, pilgrims worship and wander around the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, after accomplishing the Hajj pilgrimage.

ISSAM RIMAWI/ANADOLU VIA GETTY

Saudi officials tightened down on unlicensed pilgrims, banishing tens of thousands of them. However, many others, primarily Egyptians, were able to reach holy locations in and around Mecca, some by foot. Unlike approved pilgrims, they had no hotels to retreat to to escape the blazing heat.

Egypt’s government stated on Saturday that the 16 travel agencies did not provide proper assistance to pilgrims. It claimed that these organizations illegally sponsored pilgrims’ trips to Saudi Arabia using permits that did not allow holders to visit Mecca.

The government also announced that officials from the companies had been sent to the public prosecutor for an inquiry.

According to the state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram, several travel firms and Hajj trip providers sold Egyptian Hajj hopefuls Saudi tourist visas, which violated Saudi requirements requiring pilgrims to have unique visas.

According to the publication, these firms left pilgrims in Mecca in limbo when the holy sites were burning hot.

According to the Associated Press, the dead included 165 Indonesian pilgrims, 98 Indian pilgrims, and scores more from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Malaysia. Two American citizens were also reported killed.

‘The Associated Press could not independently confirm the causes of death, although some countries, like ‘Jordan and Tunisia,’ blamed the extreme heat.’

AP journalists witnessed pilgrims collapsing from the blazing heat, particularly on the second and third days of the Hajj. Some vomited and collapsed.

Historically, deaths have not been uncommon at the Hajj, which has witnessed More than 2 million people come to Saudi Arabia for a five-day pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage’s history has also included catastrophic stampedes and plagues. However, this year’s count was abnormally high, indicating unique conditions.

SAUDI-RELIGION-ISLAM-HAJJ
On June 18, 2024, at the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a man prays as he and other Muslim pilgrims do the farewell circumambulation or ‘tawaf,’ which involves circling a total of seven times in the vicinity of Kaaba, ‘Islam’s holiest shrine,’ at Mecca’s Grand Mosque.’

AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.

According to an AP count, a stampede in Mina killed around 2,400 pilgrims in 2015, making it the bloodiest incident in the pilgrimage’s history.

‘Saudi Arabia has never acknowledged the full scale of the catastrophe.’ A separate crane collapsed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque Earlier that year, 111 people were slain.

The second-deadliest occurrence at the Hajj was a 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 pilgrims.

During this year’s Hajj, daily maximum temperatures in Mecca and its hallowed sites hovered between 46 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) and 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit),

according to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology. Some others fainted while attempting the symbolic stoning of the devil.

The Hajj is one of Islam’s five pillars and one of the world’s most important religious events. According to Saudi Hajj officials,

More than 1.83 million Muslims will do the Hajj in 2024, including over 1.6 million from 22 countries and around 222,000 Saudi nationals and residents.

Saudi Arabia has allocated billions of dollars on crowd management and security precautions for those proactively taking an active role in the annual five-day pilgrimage, but the sheer magnitude of people generates concerns and makes it difficult to ensure their safety.

Climate change may enhance the risk. According to a 2019 study undertaken by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

even if the world succeeds in avoiding the worst effects of climate change,

The Hajj will be held in temperatures above ‘extreme danger.’ threshold’ between 2047 and 2052, and 2079 and 2086.

Because Islam follows the lunar calendar, the Hajj occurs around 11 days earlier each year. By 2029, the Hajj will be held in April, and for the five years following that, it will be held during the winter, when temperature changes are milder.