The Hajj pilgrim death toll has surpassed 1,000, according to reports, after a brutal heatwave sent temperatures soaring above 50 degrees Celsius at the world’s largest gathering of Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
Gruesome photos show bodies being covered up and left on the streets after falling victim to the high temperatures, while many others suffered severe heatstroke and were urgently forced indoors.
Unregistered pilgrims make up more than half of those who have died, and many lack access to air-conditioned facilities and assistance from authorities.
The new deaths reported today include 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a summary showing that of a total of 658 deaths from that country, 630 were unrecorded.
A British imam described the scenes as ‘harrowing’ and said it was impossible for pilgrims to walk through the streets and not see people suffering in the heat.
A man, stricken by the scorching heat, is helped by a member of the Saudi security forces as Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the symbolic ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina on June 16, 2024
A man, who appears to be suffering from sunstroke, is helped by another Muslim pilgrim earlier this week
Muslim pilgrims use parasols to protect themselves from the sun when they arrive at the foot of Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mountain of Mercy, during the Hajj pilgrimage.
“There are so many stories from the pilgrims who are with me about what they saw on the streets, especially last Sunday,” he told the BBC on Sunday.
“As you walked, you couldn’t walk twenty yards unless you saw someone struggling in the heat.
‘People did what they could to shade themselves, they got water from friendly people who gave them towels, they sought shade in hotel receptions.
‘It was poignant at times, I have never seen so many people fighting collectively.’
He went on to say that while authorities were ready to help, they must learn lessons from the terrible scenes caused by the extreme heat, which were made worse by overcrowding.
According to Saudi authorities, about 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj this year, including 1.6 million from abroad.
Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the Hajj through irregular channels because they cannot afford the often costly procedures for official Hajj visas.
This puts these unofficial pilgrims at risk as they do not have access to the air-conditioned facilities provided by the Saudi authorities along the Hajj route.
Rescuers carry away a man, stricken by the scorching heat, on a stretcher
According to Saudi authorities, about 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj this year, including 1.6 million from abroad.
Muslim pilgrims walk under mist dispensers, which Saudi authorities have set up to keep people cool
“I think the Saudi authorities may need to start thinking about controlling the numbers of pilgrims coming each year,” the British imam said.
‘Because of climate change, with the fact that the pilgrimage takes place in the summer months, they really have to look more deeply into this.’
The pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study published last month that shows temperatures in the area where rituals are performed are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) every decade.
The temperature at the Grand Mosque in Mecca reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) on Monday, the Saudi National Meteorology Center said.
Saudi officials had advised pilgrims to use umbrellas, drink plenty of water and avoid sun exposure. Camps reportedly had curfews in place telling people not to leave their tents during the hottest hours of the day.
But many of the hajj rituals, including the Mount Arafat prayers that took place on Saturday, require being outside for hours during the day.
Fortunately, the Hajj, whose date falls eleven days earlier on the Islamic calendar each year, will fall in winter in coming years, when temperatures are milder.
Muslim devotees walk around the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on June 13, 2024
Pilgrim deaths are reported every year, not only due to the heat, but also due to the difficulty of the walk and the large number of people who undertake it.
The deadliest pilgrimage incident ever occurred in 2015, when a stampede in the Mina camp killed more than 2,400 pilgrims. Saudi Arabia has never acknowledged the full toll of the stampede.
A separate crane collapse at the Grand Mosque of Mecca, which preceded the Mina disaster, killed 111 people.
The second deadliest incident during the Hajj was a stampede in 1990 that killed 1,426 people.