Weather: Many heat-related deaths during Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca

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Weather
Many heat-related deaths during Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca

Muslim pilgrims during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the Mina tent camp near the holy city of Mecca. Photo

© Rafiq Maqbool/AP/dpa

Temperatures around 50 degrees Celsius are costing more people their lives. Authorities are warning, but the death toll continues to rise.

The number of deaths from extreme heat in the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia continues to grow. According to official figures, at least 87 deaths have been recorded so far. Tunisia’s state news agency TAP reported on Wednesday that at least 35 Tunisian pilgrims had died. 11 Iranian citizens were also among the dead, the Tasnim news agency reported. The Foreign Ministry in Jordan had previously confirmed that 41 Jordanian pilgrims had also died. Reports that hundreds of Egyptians had also died could not initially be confirmed.

The pilgrimage began in Mecca on Friday evening in scorching heat. It ended on Tuesday evening, but some pilgrims still performed their rituals on Wednesday. In Mecca and other holy sites in the area, temperatures were around 50 degrees Celsius. Authorities called on believers to carry umbrellas, not to stay outside during the particularly hot midday hours, and to drink plenty of water.

Last year, around two million pilgrims took part in the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the five basic duties of Islam. Buses and trains are already helping to bring the many believers to the holy sites, but the large crowds and extreme heat still pose a challenge for the pilgrims and law enforcement officers. In recent decades, there have also been several major tragedies, each with hundreds of deaths due to crowding.

dpa

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