Hajj 2024: Saudi Arabia warns of extreme heat

The Saudi National Center for Meteorology announced Wednesday that this year’s Hajj weather at the holy sites is expected to be extremely hot.

According to the met department, maximum temperatures at the holy sites were expected to reach between 45 C to 48 C in the afternoons.

“The expected climate for hajj this year will witness an increase in average temperatures of one and a half to two degrees above normal in Makkah and Medina,” Saudi national meteorology centre chief Ayman Ghulam said.

The hajj, which begins on June 14, is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken at least once by all Muslims who have the means to do so.

It involves a series of rites completed over four days in Mecca and its surroundings in the west of oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Last year more than 1.8 million Muslims took part in the hajj, official figures showed.

More than 2,000 people suffered heat stress, according to Saudi authorities, after temperatures soared to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit).