More than 550 people die during the Hajj pilgrimage amid rising temperatures

At least 550 pilgrims have died during Saudi Arabia’s annual hajj pilgrimage, which took place again this year in scorching temperatures.
The background: At least 323 of the dead were Egyptians, most of whom succumbed to heat-related illnesses, two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told Agence France-Presse.
The total figure came from the hospital mortuary in Mecca’s Al-Muaisem district. At least 60 Jordanians also died, the diplomats said. Other countries reporting deaths included Indonesia, Iran and Senegal.
What else you need to know: The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims who have the means to do so must complete it at least once.

The pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate change. Temperatures in Mecca reached 51.8 degrees Celsius on Monday and Saudi authorities said thousands of pilgrims suffering from heat stress have been treated.

A large group of people are walking along a road. Many of them hold up umbrellas to protect them from the sun.

The Hajj pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate change. Source: MONKEY / Rafiq Maqbool/AP

Last year, at least 240 pilgrims were reported dead by several countries, most of them Indonesian. This year, approximately 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj, 1.6 million of whom were from abroad.

Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the Hajj through irregular channels because they cannot afford the often expensive procedures for official Hajj visas.

This puts them at risk as they do not have access to air-conditioned facilities provided by Saudi authorities along the Hajj route.

One of the diplomats said the Egyptian death toll was “absolutely” inflated by a large number of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims.

What happens now: Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Cairo was cooperating with Saudi authorities in search operations for Egyptians who went missing during the hajj.

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