This year Saudi Arabia has been experiencing severe heat, so far more than 1300 Hajj pilgrims have died

According to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology, temperatures in Mecca and shrines around the city reached 47 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Some people fainted while trying to symbolically pelt stones at the devil.
Scorching heat in Saudi Arabia. (File photo)
This year, more than 1300 people have died during the Haj pilgrimage amid the scorching heat in Saudi Arabia. Giving information, the Health Minister of Saudi Arabia said that deaths during Haj are not unusual, because during this period more than 20 lakh people often visit Saudi Arabia. Apart from this, stampedes and epidemics have also occurred during the Haj pilgrimage in the past.
According to an article published in the April edition of the Journal of Infection and Public Health, millions of people from low-income countries come for Hajj every year, many of whom receive little or no health care before the Hajj. It says that infectious diseases can spread among the people gathered. However, the death toll this year suggests that the increase in deaths was due to something else.
Death of Hajj pilgrims
Several countries, including Jordan and Tunisia, have said some of their pilgrims have died because of the heat at Mecca's holy sites. Near the main mosque on Wednesday, Indian pilgrim Khalid Bashir Bajaj said he saw many people faint and fall to the ground during this year's Hajj.
Temperature in Mecca
According to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology, temperatures in Mecca and shrines around the city reached 47 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Some people fainted while trying to symbolically pelt stones at the devil.