AGI – A relentless heat characterized the annual celebration ofEid Al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, the most important and heartfelt by Muslims who on this occasion are called to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Despite the announced heatwave and the conflict in Gaza, over 1.8 million faithful participated this year, according to data from the Saudi authorities, and were welcomed in the city sacred to Islam by average temperatures of at least 47 degrees, with peaks up to 51 degrees celsius.
While the rituals are being concluded, today, with the usual “tawaf” in Mecca (going around the Kaaba, in the Great Mosque, counterclockwise 7 times) the balance of the victims of the record heat that is currently at at least 1,000 deaths, almost double that of last year’s Hajj.
From Riyadh, however, also came the news that next year will be the last Hajj of the Muslim calendar to coincide with the summer season, because the sacred pilgrimage, for another 16 years, will take place either in spring or winter. It was said Hussein al-Qahtanispokesperson for the Saudi National Meteorological Center (NMC), quoted by Saudi Gazette.
Al-Qahtani has in fact clarified that from 2026, for eight consecutive years, the ritual pilgrimage will be held in the spring season. Afterwards, for another eight years, the Hajj pilgrimage will take place in winter. “We will say goodbye to the Hajj in the summer season for a period of 16 years,” al-Qahtani said. Mansour al-Mazroui, a member of the Shoura Council (the Saudi parliamentary consultative assembly) and climate change researcher, also confirmed that next year will be the last summer Hajj of this cycle.
Many faithful, according to local media, have also died due to the heat in the surroundings of the sacred city and in hospitals, despite the impressive measures to refrigerate the main streets and the Great Mosque ordered by Riyadh which, in recent days, has also recommended carrying out the rituals away from peak temperatures and installed water dispensers and refreshment points for pilgrims almost everywhere. Several newspapers, including the Emirati The National, reported numerous cases of heart attack, illness and hospitalizations for dehydration. In fact, most Hajj rites take place outdoors, with little or no shade.
More than 1.83 million Muslims performed the Hajj this year, Saudi Minister for Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq bin Fawzan al-Rabiah said in a briefing. A number slightly lower than the figure recorded last year, when 1.84 million performed the ritual.
