A diplomat in Saudi Arabia reported on Wednesday that 68 Indian nationals died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, which was marked by extreme heat, bringing the total death toll to over 600.
“We have confirmed around 68 dead… Some are because of natural causes and we had many old-age pilgrims. And some are due to the weather conditions, that’s what we assume,” the AFP quoted a diplomat.
This new figure follows reports from two Arab diplomats on Tuesday who confirmed that 550 deaths had occurred during the Hajj, one of Islam’s five pillars, obligatory for all Muslims with the means to perform at least once in their lifetime. The diplomats specified that the fatalities included 323 Egyptians and 60 Jordanians, with nearly all the Egyptians succumbing to the intense heat.
Other fatalities have been reported by Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, although many authorities have not disclosed the causes of death. According to an AFP tally, the total number of reported deaths stands at 645.
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Last year, over 200 pilgrims died, most of them from Indonesia during Hajj pilgrimage. Despite the high number of fatalities, Saudi authorities have not provided specific information on the deaths but noted more than 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” reported on Sunday alone.
The diplomat confirming the Indian deaths also mentioned that some Indian Hajj pilgrims are still missing, though he did not specify the number. “This happens every year… We can’t say that it is abnormally high this year,” he stated. “It’s somewhat similar to last year but we will know more in the coming days.”
In recent years, the Hajj has taken place during the peak of the Saudi summer, exacerbating the heat risks. A Saudi study published last month highlighted that temperatures in the Hajj ritual areas are increasing by 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) each decade.
As the Hajj continues to fall during hotter months, the combination of rigorous physical activities and rising temperatures poses significant health risks to the millions of pilgrims who attend annually.
