Hundreds of Hajj pilgrims die as temperatures contact 51 levels in Saudi Arabia | EUROtoday

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Throngs of tightly packed pilgrims on the annual Hajj pilgrimage struggled as temperatures hit 51.8 levels Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) within the shade of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi state TV mentioned, with the searing warmth claiming lives.

Twenty-three Tunisian residents died whereas on Hajj, Tunisian state information company Agence Tunis-Afrique-Presse mentioned on Tuesday.

Family members mentioned on social media that deaths had been resulting from excessive warmth and a few households had been nonetheless trying to find lacking family members in Saudi hospitals.

Six Jordanian residents died of warmth stroke throughout Hajj, the Jordanian international ministry mentioned. It later mentioned the loss of life toll had risen to 14, but it surely gave no purpose for the following deaths.

Eleven Iranians have died and 24 have been hospitalized throughout the pilgrimage, Iranian state information outlet IRINN mentioned on Tuesday with out giving the reason for loss of life.

Three Senegalese residents additionally died throughout Hajj, Agence de Presse, mentioned on Monday.

One hundred and forty-four Indonesian residents died throughout Hajj, in keeping with knowledge the Indonesian well being ministry shared with Reuters on Tuesday. The knowledge didn’t make clear if any of the deaths had been resulting from warmth stroke.

Stampedes, tent fires and different accidents have prompted a whole lot of deaths throughout Hajj prior to now 30 years, forcing the Saudi authorities to construct new infrastructure. The authorities now face new challenges defending pilgrims from excessive warmth.

A 2024 examine by the Journal of Travel and Medicine discovered amid rising international temperatures worsening warmth might outpace mitigating methods, whereas a 2019 examine by the Geophysical Research Letters mentioned that as temperatures rise in already arid Saudi Arabia resulting from local weather change, pilgrims performing Hajj will face “extreme danger”.

The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage that hundreds of thousands of Muslims make to Mecca with the intention of performing spiritual rites as taught by the Prophet Mohammad to his followers 14 centuries in the past.

A Saudi well being official advised Reuters that the authorities didn’t discover any uncommon deaths amongst Muslim pilgrims performing Hajj throughout extraordinarily excessive temperatures.

“We haven’t noticed, thank God, any abnormal or deviation from the normal numbers of morbidities and mortalities,” Jameel Abualenain, head of the Health Ministry’s emergencies directorate, mentioned.

The ministry had to date handled greater than 2,700 pilgrims who suffered from heat-related sickness, he added.

“Hajj is a difficult task, so you have to exert efforts and perform the rituals even in the conditions of heat and crowding,” an Egyptian pilgrim advised Reuters on Sunday.

Pilgrims used umbrellas to guard themselves from the solar, whereas Saudi authorities have issued warning pilgrims to remain hydrated and keep away from being outdoor throughout the hottest hours of the day between 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) and three p.m.

Hajj, one of many largest mass gatherings on the earth, is a once-in-a-lifetime responsibility for each able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. It will finish on Wednesday.

More than 1.8 million pilgrims had been anticipated to participate this 12 months, in keeping with the Saudi General Authority for Statistics.