Jordan says not less than 14 pilgrims die throughout Hajj amid searing warmth in Mecca | Faith Information

Saudi Arabia authorities urge pilgrims to guard themselves from excessive warmth, hydrate and use umbrellas.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have warned Hajj pilgrims to take measures to guard themselves from sweltering temperatures after Jordan reported that 14 of its residents died of sunstroke through the annual ritual.

​Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel​, Saudi Arabia’s minister of well being, referred to as on pilgrims on Monday to hydrate, use an umbrella for defense from the solar and keep away from scorching surfaces.

“The answer is: ‘prevention, then prevention, then prevention’,” Saudi Arabia’s official information company, SPA, quoted Al-Jalajel​ as saying.

He added that medics handled 2,764 pilgrims for warmth exhaustion on Sunday, which marked the primary day of the Eid al-Adha Muslim vacation​.

Jordan’s Overseas Ministry had mentioned on Sunday that 14 pilgrims from the nation died of sunstroke whereas 17 others are lacking. It mentioned those that died weren’t a part of Jordan’s official Hajj delegation with out saying the place or after they died.

Individually, the Iranian Crimson Crescent Society mentioned 5 pilgrims from the nation have died with out offering particulars about their explanation for loss of life.

Temperatures reached 52C (125F) on the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Monday, in keeping with Saudi Arabia’s Nationwide Heart for Meteorology. However rain introduced much-needed reprieve later within the day, cooling down the holy web site.

The Hajj pilgrimage takes place over a number of days within the remaining month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It consists of a sequence of rituals, lots of which occur outside in and round Mecca. They embody throwing pebbles at pillars symbolising the satan; strolling in circles across the Kaaba – a cube-shaped shrine on the centre of the Grand Mosque; and gathering on the Mount of Mercy, a hill close to Mecca.

Reporting from Mina, close to Mecca, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra mentioned it has been exceptionally scorching, with umbrellas doing little to guard pilgrims from the searing solar.

“I’ve lined Hajj for a few years, however this one has been extraordinarily, extraordinarily difficult for the straightforward motive that it’s actually scorching – very, highly regarded,” Ahelbarra mentioned.

“I’m simply interested by the aged and folks with persistent well being circumstances. It’s going to be extraordinarily troublesome for them.”

This 12 months’s pilgrimage will conclude on Wednesday.

The pilgrimage is without doubt one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Muslims with the means and skill should carry out Hajj not less than as soon as of their lifetime.

Saudi Arabia – whose monarch holds the title “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” – oversees the Hajj. The annual pilgrimage is without doubt one of the largest spiritual gatherings on this planet. Greater than 1.8 million pilgrims are attending Hajj this 12 months.