Over 1,300 people died during the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage during a heatwave

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At least 1,301 people died during this year’s hajj pilgrimage, which took place during an exceptional heatwave in Saudi Arabia, according to an official death toll.

This year, around 1.8 million pilgrims came to the holy city of Mecca, walking long distances amid a deadly heatwave with temperatures exceeding 51 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).

Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said 83 percent of all deaths were caused by illegal pilgrims who had entered the city without permission. The Islamic desert kingdom has been criticized for its poor management.

They reportedly had to travel long distances in the blazing sun without adequate protection.

Mr Al-Jalajel told state-run Al Ekhbariya television that 95 pilgrims were still being treated in hospitals and some of them had been flown to the capital for further treatment.

However, the identification process was delayed because many of the deceased pilgrims did not have identification documents.

Hajj, a religious obligation for Muslims who are physically and financially able to undertake the journey at least once in their lives, began on June 14 this year.

The government of Saudi Arabia issues a certain number of visas each year, but hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who do not receive approval still travel on tourist visas arranged by unlicensed tour operators.

As the death toll rose, the government was criticized for its actions. People complained about the lack of air-conditioned tents and official transportation for the hajj, as many people crowded into overcrowded mosques.

Around 660 Egyptians died during the pilgrimage, but only 31 of them had received the necessary permits, officials in Cairo said. Authorities revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies.

More than 200 people from Indonesia and 98 from India have died in Mecca. Pakistan, Malaysia, Jordan, Iran, Senegal and Sudan have also confirmed deaths.

Jordan said it had arrested travel agents involved in an illegal travel agency that organized unofficial trips to Mecca for Muslims. Two US citizens also died in Mecca.

Tunisian President Kais Saied said the Tunisian minister for religious affairs had been fired after 49 citizens were killed during the pilgrimage.

According to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology, maximum temperatures in Mecca and around the city will be between 46 and 49 degrees Celsius.

Because of the long journeys in ancient times and the physically demanding rituals, deaths during Hajj are not uncommon, but this year’s number was unusually high, suggesting exceptional circumstances.

In 2015, over 2,400 pilgrims were killed in a stampede in Mina. It was the worst incident to ever hit this pilgrimage site. Saudi Arabia has never admitted the exact number of victims of the stampede. Another crane collapse at the Grand Mosque in Mecca earlier that year killed 111 people.

In 1990, more than 1,426 people died in a mass panic.

Climate change is expected to make the Hajj pilgrimage riskier.

A 2019 study by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that even if the world succeeded in curbing the worst effects of climate change, the Hajj from 2047 to 2052 and from 2079 to 2086 would take place at temperatures exceeding an “extreme danger threshold.”