Over 900 individuals have perished during the Hajj ritual.
During temperatures exceeding 51.8 degrees Celsius, pilgrims embark on the Hadj, frequently deprived of air-conditioned areas. These unbearable conditions have proven fatal for several: An Egyptian official reveals at least 600 pilgrims from Egypt have perished due to the excessive heat, with another 800 still unaccounted for.
During this year's Muslim pilgrimage, Hadj in Saudi Arabia, over 900 individuals have reportedly lost their lives. 600 of the deceased are said to be from Egypt. A Middle Eastern diplomat disclosed this horrifying information. Families of the missing are scouring hospitals, fearing the worst.
The Middle Eastern diplomat confirmed that these deaths were all due to the punishing heat. In addition to the confirmed fatalities, another 800 pilgrims from Egypt are also reported missing.
Casualties have been reported from Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, Indonesia, and Senegal in recent days. An Asian diplomat announced around 68 Indian pilgrims among the dead. The combined death toll surpasses 922 people during this year's Hadj. Last year reported over 200 fatalities during the pilgrimage, mainly from Indonesia.
Permitless and devoid of air-conditioned spaces
A 70-year-old Tunisian, Mabrouka bint Salem Shoushana, has gone missing after scaling Mount Arafat on Saturday, according to her husband Mohammed. Lacking an official permit for the pilgrimage, she was excluded from the air-conditioned facilities where pilgrims can rest after long hours of prayer under the blazing sun. No trace of her has been found in hospital searches so far.
Similarly, a 70-year-old Egyptian pilgrim, Huria Sharif, was reported missing after praying on Mount Arafat. "We have exhausted all possible avenues, but we still haven’t found her," a friend of the pilgrim confided. Ghada Mahmud Ahmed Dawood, another Egyptian pilgrim, is also among the missing. Her daughter reached out to a contact in Saudi Arabia through Facebook, seeking assistance in the search efforts. "She has not appeared on the list of the deceased, giving us hope that she might still be alive."
Desperate relatives of the missing pilgrims are tirelessly searching for any information. Numerous photographs of missing Hadj participants have been shared on online platforms. However, the search for the missing is complicated by the fact that many faithful undertake the pilgrimage without the official pilgrim license, thus remaining unregistered by Saudi Arabian authorities.
The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It is an obligation for every able-bodied Muslim, assuming they can afford it, to embark on this pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. The time for the pilgrimage is fixed as per the Islamic calendar and has often coincided with heatwaves in recent years. Approximately 1.8 million believers took part this year, with the majority being foreign pilgrims - approximately 1.6 million.
The heat is growing hotter for the pilgrims every year
Many of the rituals are conducted outdoors and on foot, making it particularly strenuous for the elderly. Saudi Arabian authorities recorded over 2700 cases of heat-related symptoms on Sundays alone. However, they neglected to comment on the number of fatalities caused by the extreme temperatures.
According to a Saudi Arabian study published in May, weather conditions during the Hadj are becoming progressively tougher as a result of global warming: The average temperature during the pilgrimage journey increases by 0.4 degrees every decade.
Read also:
- The International Organization of Migration has expressed concern over the safety of Muslim pilgrims during the ongoing heatwave in Saudi Arabia, where temperatures have been reaching record highs, exacerbating the challenges faced during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, particularly for those from countries like Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, and Senegal.
- As the world grapples with climate change, the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is experiencing increasingly hotter temperatures during the Hajj. This has led many Muslim scholars to call for a review of the rituals and infrastructure to ensure the safety of pilgrims, such as investing in air-conditioned facilities and adjusting schedules to avoid the hottest parts of the day.
- In response to the growing concerns about the impact of climate change on the Hajj, Saudi Arabia has commenced a long-term project to adapt the city of Mecca and its infrastructure to better accommodate the challenges posed by extreme weather conditions, following the example set by other countries that have international Islamic sites such as Islamabad's Faisal Mosque in Pakistan.
