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<\/p>\n02 June 2025<\/p>\n
3-minute read<\/p>\n
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More than 1 million Muslim pilgrims poured into the holy city of\u00a0Mecca<\/a>\u00a0ahead of the annual\u00a0hajj<\/a>, with authorities vowing to hold a safer pilgrimage amid searing desert\u00a0heat<\/a>\u00a0and a massive crackdown on illegal visitors.<\/p>\n Officials have beefed up heat mitigation measures hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s hajj, which saw 1,301 pilgrims die as temperatures reached 51.8 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n Temperatures were forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius this week as one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings starts tomorrow.<\/p>\n The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.<\/p>\n As of weekend, more than 1.5 million pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the multi-day pilgrimage, according to officials.<\/p>\n This year, authorities have mobilized more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts against heat-related illness following the lethal heatwave of 2024.<\/p>\n Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square meters, thousands more medics will be on standby, and more than 400 cooling units will be deployed, Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah told AFP last week.<\/p>\n Monday, with temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius, the health ministry said 44 cases of heatstroke had already been treated.<\/p>\n Despite the punishing heat, pilgrims were overjoyed as they arrived in Mecca.<\/p>\n “This is really a blessing from Allah,” Abdul Majid Ati, a Filipino lawyer and Sharia counsellor, told AFP near the Grand Mosque.<\/p>\n “We feel so peaceful and safe in this place.”<\/p>\n