2,000 hajj pilgrims suffer heat stress as temperature nears 120°F

More than 2,000 pilgrims suffer medical heat stress during the hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials say, after temperatures soared to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) during the annual rites.

Over 1.8 million people are performing the days-long hajj, mostly held outdoors at the height of the Saudi desert summer. Many elderly were among the worshipers after a COVID-era maximum age limit was scrapped.

Saudi officials say about 1,700 heat stress cases were recorded on today alone — as huge numbers of pilgrims remain at the holy sites, a day after the main rituals finished — adding to the 287 reported earlier.

Officials do not provide a death toll but at least 30 people have died during the pilgrimage, according to numbers announced by various countries which did not list causes of death.

The real figure for heat stress — which includes heatstroke, exhaustion, cramps and rashes — is probably far higher, as many sufferers are not admitted to hospitals or clinics.

People struggling in the heat is a common sight, especially after the day-long outdoor prayers at Mount Arafat where overheating phones shut down and shade was hard to find.