The number of pilgrims who died during the holy Hajj in Saudi Arabia due to severe heatstroke and unbearable heat has exceeded 1000. More than half of these pilgrims who died in the intense heat were unregistered. The death toll of Saudi pilgrims was reported by the French news agency AFP on Thursday.
The number of dead pilgrims has been tallied by the news agency AFP based on information from the Saudi government administration, various hospitals in Mecca and the embassies of different countries. This number is confirmed from the latest status of that tile.
It is said that the names of 58 more Egyptian pilgrims were added to the list of those killed during Hajj on Thursday. A diplomat in the Arab Gulf region told AFP that among the thousands of pilgrims who lost their lives while performing the Hajj, only 658 were Egyptian nationals.
He said, about 630 of the Egyptians who died in Saudi went to Hajj illegally. Because of this, they are deprived of the facilities and services allocated by the Saudi government for passengers to ensure protection from the intense heat wave. These passengers who entered Saudi illegally are not even getting accommodation, food and air condition facilities.
This year Hajj started from last 14 June. According to the Saudi Meteorological Department, the temperature in Mecca has been fluctuating between 50 degrees Celsius for the past week. On Wednesday too, the temperature in Makkah was 51.8 degrees Celsius.
Apart from Egypt, citizens of Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, Bangladesh and India are also on the list of dead pilgrims. According to the official data, 27 Bangladeshis have died while going to Mecca to perform Hajj.
About 1.8 million pilgrims from different countries of the world have gone to Saudi to perform Hajj this time. Many of the foreign pilgrims are not used to the intense heat of Mecca. Moreover, among these pilgrims there are thousands of pilgrims who did not come to Saudi according to the rules. A large part of the pilgrims who died had entered Saudi Arabia illegally, the country's administration said.
Besides, a large number of pilgrims have gone missing while performing various rituals of Hajj. There is no guarantee that all of these pilgrims who have been out of safe haven this summer are alive. Therefore, the number of dead pilgrims is likely to increase in the coming days.
Over the past 30 years, hundreds of people have lost their lives in stampedes, tent fires and other accidents during the holy Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Because of this, the Saudi government has been forced to build new infrastructure to ensure the safe completion of the Hajj ceremony and the safety of the pilgrims. But the country's authorities are currently facing new challenges in protecting pilgrims from the extreme heat.
A study this year in the Journal of Travel and Medicine found that rising global temperatures are thwarting conventional heat mitigation strategies. And a 2019 study by Geophysical Research Letters said that the Hajj pilgrims will face "extreme danger" in the future as the temperature rises in Saudi Arabia due to climate change.
According to a Saudi study, regional temperatures in the country are increasing at an average rate of 0.4 degrees centigrade per decade and the heatwave situation is worsening despite mitigation measures.
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