More than 550 pilgrims died during the Hajj in Mecca, in a hot heat reaching almost 52 ° C. At least 323 were Egyptian, most of them succumbing to heat -related discomfort. 60 Jordanians also died. This heavy record of 577 dead highlights the trying nature of this annual pilgrimage.
Tunisia has counted 35 deaths among its pilgrims, due to “the high rise in temperatures” according to the Tunisian authorities.
The samessources said that the total came from the morgue of Al-Muaisem to Mecca. The results could still get worse, some countries that have not finalized their counts. Last year, at least 240 pilgrims, most of them Indonesians, had been identified. Hajj attracts around 2 million followers each year to Mecca, including 1.6 million from abroad.
A recent Saudi study shows that temperatures in holy places increase by 0.4 ° C per decade due to climate change. On Monday, the 51.8 ° C reached at the Great Mosque put the pilgrims to the test.
Despite the recommendations to take shelter from the sun, many rituals require to stay out of long hours. Overwhelmed exhaustion and emergency services having treated more than 2,000 cases of heat strokes were observed.
A significant number of tens of thousands of unregistered pilgrims would have aggravated the situation, especially in the Egyptian camps saturated and deprived of water, food and air conditioning.
The Saudi Minister of Health assured that the health plans had made it possible to avoid any major epidemic, but did not communicate on deaths.
