Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that over 1,300 pilgrims died during the Hajj, which took place amid extreme heat, with most of the deceased lacking official permits.
“Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83 percent being unauthorized to perform Hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort,” reported the official Saudi Press Agency.
An AFP tally from the previous week, based on official statements and diplomatic reports, estimated the death toll at over 1,100.
The deceased hailed from more than ten countries, including the United States and Indonesia, with some governments continuing to update their totals.
Arab diplomats told AFP last week that Egyptians accounted for 658 deaths, 630 of whom were unregistered pilgrims. The diplomats indicated that most deaths were heat-related.
Temperatures in Makkah reached up to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) this year, according to Saudi Arabia’s national meteorological center.
Riyadh had not publicly commented on the deaths or provided its own toll until Sunday.
However, on Friday, a senior Saudi official said that a partial toll of 577 deaths for the two busiest days of Hajj: June 15, when pilgrims gathered on Mount Arafat for hours of prayers in the blazing sun, and June 16, during the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina.
The official defended Riyadh’s response, stating, “The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgment on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks.”
The Saudi health minister, Fahd Al-Jalajel, described the management of this year’s Hajj as “successful,” according to SPA. He mentioned that the health system provided over 465,000 specialized treatment services, including 141,000 services to those without official authorization to perform Hajj.
Jalajel did not specify how many deaths were attributed to heat but noted that the health system addressed numerous cases of heat stress, with some individuals still under care. Among the deceased were several elderly and chronically ill individuals.
The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, requires all Muslims with the means to complete it at least once in their lives. This year, Saudi officials reported that 1.8 million pilgrims participated, with 1.6 million coming from abroad.
For the past several years, the Hajj rituals, mostly performed outdoors, have coincided with the sweltering Saudi summer. The timing of the Hajj shifts forward by about 11 days each year in the Gregorian calendar, so next year’s Hajj will take place earlier in June, potentially in cooler conditions.
A 2019 study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters indicated that due to climate change, heat stress for Hajj pilgrims will exceed the “extreme danger threshold” from 2047 to 2052 and 2079 to 2086, with increasing frequency and intensity as the century progresses.
Hajj permits are allocated based on a quota system and distributed by lottery. The high costs prompt many to attempt the Hajj without a permit, risking arrest and deportation if caught.
Saudi authorities reported clearing hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Makkah before the Hajj.
However, the Saudi official who spoke to AFP on Friday estimated that around 400,000 unregistered pilgrims participated, with “almost all of them from one nationality,” apparently referring to Egypt.
