Hajj 2023: Over 2,000 suffer heatstroke as temperatures reach nearly 50C

The annual holy Hajj pilgrimage for Muslims is exacting a heavy toll on the pilgrims. According to Saudi officials, more than 2,000 people suffered heat stress on Thursday as temperatures soared to 48C (118F).

“The number of heat stress cases since the beginning of this day has reached 1,721,” the Saudi health ministry announced the toll, adding to the 287 reported cases earlier.

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Theministry added that most injuries resulted due to failure on the pilgrims' part to adhere to the instructions they had been issued. It called on pilgrims to not exhaust themselves with excessive movement without necessity, as well as not stand for a long time.

Although a death toll was not provided, an AFP report stated at least 230 - many from Indonesia had died during the pilgrimage.Indonesian consul general in Jeddah Eko Hartono reported at least 209 Indonesians died during the Hajj. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country and a big proportion of pilgrims come from the Southeast Asian nation.

“It is inaccurate to say that a lot of Indonesian pilgrims died because of heatstrokes,” said Hartono, adding that causes of death were mostly due to heart and respiratory ailments.

He, however, acknowledged that some pilgrims had “fainted” during the days-long pilgrimage “because of the heat”.

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A 114-year-old pilgrim from Iran died due to a heart attack during the pilgrimage, taking the toll of Iranian deaths to 10. Meanwhile, eight Algerians and fourMoroccans also died in the kingdom.

The real figure for deaths due to heat stress is expected to go up as authorities sift through the cases. The kingdom is becoming increasingly hot due to climate change. The 2021United Nations’ intergovernmental panel on climate change has warned that parts of the Gulf could becomeuninhabitable by the end of the century if the current trend continues.

Breaking three-year Covid restrictions

This year's Hajj was a departure from the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic over the last three years. The kingdom also scrapped the age limit of 18 to 65 for vaccinated pilgrims that was imposed due to the pandemic.

According to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT),1,845,045 pilgrims performed the holy pilgrimage this year. Of these, 1,660,915 pilgrims came from outside the Kingdom through various ports, while the number of domestic pilgrims reached 184,130, including both citizens and residents.

In 2022,the kingdom opened its gates for nearly one million people with foreign visitors being allowed for the first time in two years

The pilgrimage is one of five pillars of Islam, which all able-bodied Muslims with the means are required to perform at least once.

(With inputs from agencies)

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