Saudi Arabia prepares for hajj season amid extreme heat

The deaths of 1,300 pilgrims during the hajj in Saudi Arabia last year underscored the urgent need to mitigate dangers posed by extreme heat, with crowd management an essential first step, analysts say.

Temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) in the holy city of Mecca last June as 1.8 million worshippers took part in the annual rites, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Saudi officials said 83% of the 1,301 recorded fatalities did not have official hajj permits and were therefore unable to access amenities meant to make the hajj more bearable, including air-conditioned tents.

The vast majority of hajj pilgrims come from abroad, and diplomats involved in their countries' responses to last year's crisis told AFP at the time that most deaths were heat-related.

Pilgrims arrive in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj season.AFP

While Riyadh has not detailed preparations for this year's pilgrimage—still five months away—authorities will no doubt want to avoid a repeat, said Abderrezak Bouchama of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah International Medical Research Center.

"I think they will above all reduce the risk of illegal pilgrims," said Bouchama, who has worked with the Saudi government for more than three decades on reducing heat deaths.

Saudi officials did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.

Crowd control

The hajj takes place over five to six days, mostly outdoors.

It has seen a number of disasters over the years, including in 2015 when a stampede during the "stoning the devil" ritual in Mina killed up to 2,300 people.

Responses in the past have "typically focused on infrastructure improvements and crowd control measures," said Karim Elgendy, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank.

"Based on this pattern, we would expect authorities to approach the 2025 hajj with enhanced heat mitigation infrastructure and potentially stricter capacity controls."

Muslim pilgrims perform the farewell circumambulation or "tawaf", circling seven times around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca at the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage.AFP

Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota system and distributed to individuals by lottery.

Elgendy stressed last year's deaths were the product of "an unprecedented perfect storm of environmental conditions," not just a strain on resources caused by unregistered pilgrims.

On top of high temperatures, "the summer solstice timing meant pilgrims faced maximum sun exposure during outdoor rituals," he said.

The hajj's timing is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar and will move forward about 11 days in the Gregorian calendar, meaning this year it will again fall during the Saudi summer.

Cooling mechanisms

Authorities were pursuing heat mitigation measures at holy sites long before last year's deaths.

Near the Kaaba, the black cubic structure in the Grand Mosque in Mecca towards which all Muslims pray, air-conditioned spaces allow pilgrims to cool off, and a climate-controlled pathway connects the hills of Safa and Marwa inside the mosque compound.

Since 2023, roads used by the faithful have been covered in a white cooling material that Saudi officials say reduces the temperature of the asphalt by 20%.

A departing Turkish pilgrim pours cold water from a bottle on her head to cool off as she waits in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca.AFP

Volunteers also distribute water and umbrellas and offer advice to pilgrims on avoiding hyperthermia, while misting systems and air-conditioned shopping malls provide temporary relief between prayers.

"Air conditioning is the only effective measure to protect against extreme heat," said Bouchama, calling for mobile cooling units to be deployed among pilgrims.

"Drinking water helps to rehydrate, but it is not enough. You have to get out of the heat."

While the pilgrimage will eventually shift to the cooler winter season, relief will be temporary.

A 2019 study published by the journal Geophysical Research Letters said because of climate change and the timing of the hajj, heat stress for pilgrims will exceed the "extreme danger threshold" from 2047 to 2052, and 2079 to 2086.