Saudi Arabia prepares for another Hajj threatened by extreme heat January 11, 2025

Extreme temperatures during last year's Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia killed hundreds of people [Getty/file photo]

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Saudi Arabia prepares for another hajj threatened by extreme heat

The deaths of 1,300 pilgrims during the hajj in Saudi Arabia last year highlighted the urgent need to mitigate the dangers caused by extreme heat, with crowd control an essential first step, according to analysts.

Temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) in the holy city of Mecca last June when 1.8 million worshippers took part in the annual rituals, one of the five pillars of Islam.

The Saudi authorities said that 83% of the 1,301 recorded fatalities did not have official permission for the hajj and were therefore unable to access the amenities designed to make the hajj more bearable, including air-conditioned tents.

This was a high-profile example of the destruction caused by the heat in 2024, which the Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Friday would be the hottest year on record.

The vast majority of hajj pilgrims come from abroad, and diplomats involved in their countries' responses to last year's crisis told AFP at the time that most deaths were heat-related.

Although Riyadh has not detailed preparations for this year's pilgrimage - there are still five months to go - the authorities undoubtedly want to avoid a repeat, said Abderrezak Bouchama, from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah International Medical Research Center.

“I think above all they will reduce the risk of illegal pilgrims,” said Bouchama, who has worked with the Saudi government for more than three decades on reducing heat-related deaths.

“I think they've learned their lesson, so we'll have to see what kind of measures they take for that.”

Other measures to make the heat less dangerous, such as the introduction of wearable sensors to quickly detect heat stress, are long-term projects that probably won't be implemented until June, Beauchamp added.

The Saudi authorities did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.

- 'Perfect storm' -

The hajj takes place over five or six days, mostly outdoors.

Over the years, it has been the scene of several disasters, including in 2015 when a stampede during the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina killed up to 2,300 people.

In the past, responses “have typically focused on infrastructure improvements and crowd control measures,” said Karim Elgendy, associate fellow at think tank Chatham House.

“Based on this pattern, we expect the authorities to approach the 2025 hajj with improved heat mitigation infrastructure and potentially stricter capacity controls.”

Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota system and distributed to individuals by lottery.

But even for those who manage to obtain them, the high costs lead many to attempt the hajj without a permit, even though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.

The introduction of a general tourist visa in 2019 has made it easier for all foreigners, including pilgrims without permits, to enter the country.

Sealing off the entry points to Mecca is “very difficult”, which means that the Saudi authorities should expect irregular pilgrims again this year, said Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi politics at the University of Birmingham.

The Saudi authorities “need to make provision not only for the numbers registered but also for the additional numbers”, especially with regard to refrigeration and emergency health facilities, he said.

However, Elgendy emphasized that last year's deaths were the product of “an unprecedented perfect storm of environmental conditions,” and not just a strain on resources caused by unregistered pilgrims.

In addition to the high temperatures, “the timing of the summer solstice meant that pilgrims faced maximum exposure to the sun during the outdoor rituals,” he said.

The time of the hajj is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar and will move forward by around 11 days in the Gregorian calendar, which means that this year it will again fall during the scorching Saudi summer.

- 'Extreme danger' -

The authorities were adopting heat mitigation measures at the holy sites long before last year's deaths.

Near the Kaaba, the black cubic structure in the Grand Mosque in Mecca to which all Muslims pray, air-conditioned spaces allow pilgrims to cool off, and an air-conditioned path connects the Safa and Marwa hills within the mosque complex.

Since 2023, the roads used by the faithful have been covered in a white cooling material which, according to the Saudi authorities, reduces the temperature of the asphalt by 20%.

Volunteers also hand out water and umbrellas and offer pilgrims advice on how to avoid hyperthermia, while misting systems and air-conditioned shopping malls provide temporary relief between prayers.

“Air-conditioning is the only effective measure of protection against extreme heat,” said Bouchama, calling for mobile cooling units to be set up among pilgrims.

“Drinking water helps to rehydrate, but it's not enough. You have to get out of the heat.”

Even though these measures won't be in place until this year's hajj in June, it's still worth seeking them out, he said.

Although the pilgrimage will end up shifting to the cooler winter season, the relief will be temporary.

A 2019 study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters said that due to climate change and the timing of the hajj, heat stress for pilgrims will exceed the “extreme danger threshold” from 2047 to 2052 and from 2079 to 2086.

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