Fourteen Jordanian pilgrims died as they carried out rituals associated to Hajj, a holy journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that Muslims are inspired to take as soon as of their lives, Jordan’s official information company stated on Sunday.
The pilgrims died because of publicity to excessive solar and warmth, the company stated, based mostly on a report from Jordan’s Overseas Ministry. In Mecca, temperatures reached practically 110 levels Fahrenheit on Sunday, and current research have indicated that local weather change will improve well being dangers there.
One other 17 pilgrims have been additionally lacking, the company stated.
The Hajj is likely one of the largest mass gatherings on the earth, with Muslim pilgrims touring from close to and much for the non secular expertise, which can also be a bodily and psychological problem.
This yr, Hajj began on Friday and can finish on Wednesday; 1.8 million pilgrims have been anticipated to participate, in keeping with the Common Authority for Statistics, a Saudi authorities company.
The Saudi Press Company reported on Saturday that the nation’s medical middle for warmth exhaustion had handled 225 pilgrims for warmth stress and fatigue.
Deaths have additionally occurred throughout earlier pilgrimages, together with from stampedes. In 2015, greater than 700 individuals died from a stampede. Many pilgrims, who are sometimes older, have additionally skilled warmth stress in recent times, with scores dying from the warmth.
The pilgrimage is likely one of the 5 pillars of the Muslim religion, and lots of the rituals happen open air, in Mecca and the encircling desert. These rituals embrace praying outdoors the Nice Mosque of Mecca and spending the day in prayer at Mount Arafat, typically below the blazing solar.
Scientists have warned that climate situations might be extreme when Hajj, which follows the lunar calendar, falls through the summer season, because it did this yr.
Reduction measures have helped scale back instances of warmth stress, scientists say. Saudi authorities have used water mist sprays to chill the air, they stated, and so they have offered water, umbrellas and air-conditioned transportation for the pilgrims.
Vivian Nereim contributed reporting from Riyadh.
