Makkah Saudi Arabia - June 20, 2024

More than 1,000 people died this year during the annual Hajj in sweltering heat and more than half were unregistered pilgrims.

The new toll includes another 58 Egyptians, bringing to 658 the number of Egyptian pilgrims who died during the Haj in Saudi Arabia. Of these, 630 were undocumented in the kingdom, which distributes visas by country each year on the occasion of the pilgrimage on the basis of a quota system.

In total, some 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam that every Muslim of means must complete at least once. The figures come from official statements or from diplomats working on responses in their countries.
The haj, whose timing is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar, fell again this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.

The national meteorological centre reported a maximum temperature of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) earlier this week at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. According to a Saudi study published last month, temperatures in the area are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius every decade.

images in association with Rizwan Almakki.

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the pilgrimage.