Climate Change: Death Toll Surpasses 1,000 Amid Record-Breaking Heat in Saudi
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The death toll from this year’s Hajj pilgrimage has exceeded 1,000, according to an AFP tally released on Thursday.
Excel Magazine International gathered that more than half of the deceased were unregistered worshippers who undertook the pilgrimage in the searing heat of Saudi Arabia. The latest reports included 58 new deaths from Egypt, with an Arab diplomat confirming that of the 658 Egyptian fatalities, 630 were unregistered.
Approximately ten countries have reported a total of 1,081 deaths during this year’s Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam that every Muslim with the means must complete at least once.
These figures have been obtained through official statements or diplomats involved in their countries’ responses. Egyptian officials, however, have not confirmed the AFP figures, although numerous videos on social media show bodies lying around the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The timing of the Hajj this year coincided with the oppressive Saudi summer, with the national meteorological center reporting a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) at the Grand Mosque earlier this week.
A Saudi study published last month indicated that temperatures in the area are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius per decade.
Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the Hajj through irregular channels due to the high cost of official permits.
Saudi authorities cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca earlier this month, but many still participated in the main rites. Without official permits, these pilgrims were denied access to air-conditioned spaces provided for the 1.8 million authorized pilgrims, making them more vulnerable to the extreme heat.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the deaths of 68 nationals and reported 16 others missing. Many of the deceased were buried in Mecca according to their families’ wishes. Similar fatalities have been reported by Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, and Iraq’s Kurdistan region, though specific causes have not been detailed.
The primary cause of death among Egyptian pilgrims was heat-induced complications such as high blood pressure, as noted by an Arab diplomat. The diplomat added that the exhaustion was exacerbated by pilgrims being chased by security forces before the day-long prayers at Arafat, the Hajj’s climax.
As at press time, Saudi Arabia has not released information on fatalities but reported over 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone.
Friends and family members continue to search for missing pilgrims, visiting hospitals and pleading online for information amid the ongoing scorching temperatures.
