Hajj 2024: Over 1.83M Muslims Brave Summer Heat

More than 1.8 million Muslims made the journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to perform the Hajj 2024 pilgrimage.

Temperatures soared to a blazing high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) at Mecca’s Masjid al-Haram, where pilgrims perform the ritual circumambulation known as Tawaf, the movement around Islam’s Kaaba, a cubic structure.

Meanwhile, the temperature in the valley of Mina reached 46 degree Celsius (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Despite the intense heat,majority of Hajj 2024 pilgrims successfully completed the pilgrimage, a testament to their unwavering faith and dedication to their Islamic practices

2024 Hajj safety measures 

According to Saudi Arabia’s health ministry, more than 2,700 cases of heat exhaustion were recorded on Sunday alone, June 16th, for Hajj 2024.

Medical teams were on site to provide immediate aid and relief to those affected by the intense summer heat.

Apart from medical assistance, cooling stations and hydration points were also implemented for the safety and well-being of pilgrims.

The health bureau said that these cases of heat exhaustion were due to sun exposure and the victims’ non-compliance with the pilgrimage’s guidelines, such as seeking shelter from the sun in the afternoon.

In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health said:

“Prevention is the most important, and the commitment of pilgrims not to go out at peak times except when necessary, or to use an umbrella, would reduce the incidence of heat exhaustion.”

“Our health guidelines for the coming days are clear and easy: carry an umbrella, drink water regularly, and avoid exposure to the sun.”

Heatstroke victims

Hundreds of pilgrims were reported to have succumbed to heatstroke before the Hajj 2024 pilgrimage came to a close on Monday, June 17th.

323 of the casualties were confirmed to be Egyptians and 60 were Jordanian nationals.

Other nations’ authorities also reported to have had fatalities during the annual pilgrimage.

Hajj 2024 ushered approximately 1.8 million pilgrims, among these 1.6 million pilgrims from overseas.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, considered to be a religious obligation that physically capable Muslims must fulfill at least once in their lifetime.

Heat: A challenge for Hajj in 2024

The annual pilgrimage requires walking great distances between outdoor sites.

One of the last major activities in Hajj involves throwing stones at three concrete walls, referred to as “stoning the devil,” during which pilgrims are exposed to the heat of the sun.

Saudi’s health ministry noted that it would closely monitor cases of heat exhaustion.

Cooler temperatures ahead

According to Hussein Al-Qahtani, a spokesman of Saudi’s National Meteorological Center (NMC), the Hajj 2025 pilgrimage would be the last to fall during the summer season, ushering in several years of cooler temperatures for pilgrims.

“The Hajj season will enter a new phase of climate change during the year 2026. We will not witness summer Hajj until after 17 years,” Al-Qahtani remarked.

Hajj in 2026 will mark the beginning of the pilgrimage entering the spring season for the next eight years, with the following eight years falling during the winter season.

Al-Qahtani also noted that the average temperatures during these two seasons of Hajj over 16 years would range between 45 and 47 degrees Celsius (113 to 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Photo by ekrem osmanoglu on Unsplash