Rafiq Maqbool/AP
Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun as they arrive to throw stones at a pillar in a symbolic stoning of the devil ceremony in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, on June 18, 2024.
Dubai
CNN
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Dozens of people died and thousands were treated for heatstroke during the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage to Mecca amid bitterly cold weather, with temperatures reaching 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).
At least 41 Jordanians and 11 Iranians are among the dead, according to authorities in both countries. The Iranian Red Crescent said on Wednesday that 22 more Jordanians were missing and 26 Iranians were hospitalized, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim.
Some of the Iranians died from heatstroke, while others had underlying health conditions, the Iranian Red Crescent said.
The death toll is likely to rise as Saudi Arabia and Egypt have yet to release official figures, and both governments are only counting those pilgrims who registered and visited Mecca according to their national quotas, raising concerns that further deaths could occur among unregistered pilgrims.
The Saudi government said on Monday that more than 2,700 people were being treated for heatstroke, while hundreds of people took to social media to report missing loved ones.
More than 1.8 million people will take part in the Hajj, one of the world’s largest religious congregations, this year, according to the Saudi Arabian General Statistics Authority.
Pilgrim deaths are not uncommon, but this year’s gathering is taking place in particularly hot temperatures.
The hajj season changes each year according to the Islamic calendar and this year it fell in June, one of the hottest months in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia on Monday advised pilgrims not to perform the “stoning of the devil” ritual during certain hours after temperatures reached 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).
Hajj officials have urged pilgrims to carry umbrellas and stay hydrated in the harsh weather conditions, while the Saudi military has deployed a heatstroke medical unit and 30 emergency response teams, totaling more than 1,600 personnel, along with 5,000 medical and emergency volunteers.
Performing the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every Muslim who is physically and financially able to make the journey to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
The pilgrimage involves a number of detailed rituals, including wearing special clothing symbolizing the equality and unity of humanity before God, circling the Kaaba counterclockwise and symbolically stoning the devil.
