Hajj heatwave deaths: At least 14 die on annual Mecca pilgrimage as Saudi Arabia swelters in extreme heat

Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, is currently underway, and will continue until Wednesday. The pilgrimage is a mandatory religious duty which must be carried out at least once in a lifetime by those who can, and attracts hundreds of thousands to millions of Muslim worshippers to the Saudi Arabian city every year.

However, Saudi Arabia is also in the grips of a devastating heatwave - with daytime temperatures now approaching 50 degrees. The mercury hit 47C on Sunday (16 June), and the extreme heat has taken its toll, with authorities reporting thousands of cases of heatstroke and a number of deaths among worshippers.

In a statement posted on X - formerly known as Twitter - Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that 14 Jordanian citizens performing Hajj rituals had died, while 17 other pilgrims were missing. Ambassador Sufyan Al-Qudah, the head of the country’s Directorate of Operations and Consular Affairs, said that they were working with Saudi authorities to search for the missing people, and to arrange burial or transport of the bodies back to Jordan.

Ambassador Al-Qudah expressed his sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the deceased pilgrims, who he said were from outside the official Jordanian Hajj delegation. He is now calling on all Jordanian citizens who have travelled to perform Hajj rituals to contact the directorate, so their safety could be monitored.

There has been little information on deaths released by other countries with large delegations travelling to Mecca, however local media have reported that officials have confirmed seven deaths of pilgrims travelling from the Kurdistan region, which spans several Middle Eastern countries, including one on Monday (17 June). The Iranian Red Crescent Society has also confirmed the deaths of seven Iranians during this year's Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca due to “heatstroke” and “pre-existing health conditions” - although it is unknown whether any of these cases overlap.

The Saudi Ministry of Health has also been providing regular updates. A spokesperson told the Independent that more than 2,760 visitors had suffered sunstroke and heat stress on Sunday alone.

In a series of advice posts on social media, the authority urged pilgrims to stay in camp during the day when temperatures were highest, to stay out of direct sunlight from 11am to 4pm, and to use an umbrella and drink plenty of water.

This comes after the European Union’s climate change service, Copernicus, confirmed this month that May 2024 was the warmest ever recorded, meaning every single one of the last 12 months was record-breakingly hot. Last year was also the hottest year on record - although climate scientists now fear one of the next few years will beat it.

The United Nations have called for urgent action from world leaders on fossil fuels, to help curb the devastating heatwaves and extreme weather events driven by climate change while there is still time.