At least 19 die from extreme heat during Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia

MECCA: At least 19 pilgrims have been reported dead including Jordanians and Iranians during the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as temperatures soar in the kingdom.

Fourteen Jordanians have been reported dead, some of them due to heat stroke, while 17 others were reported missing, the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

At least six of the fatalities were heat related, the ministry said on Saturday, with temperatures predicted to reach 47 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in Mecca on Monday.

Iranian Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand separately said “five Iranian pilgrims have lost their lives so far in Mecca and Medina during the hajj this year”, without saying how they died.

Saudi Arabia has not provided any information on fatalities.

The kingdom has implemented heat mitigation measures, including climate-controlled areas. It distributes water, and offers advice to pilgrims on protecting themselves from the sun.

During last year’s hajj at least 240 people — many from Indonesia — died, according to figures announced by various countries which also did not specify causes of death.

In 2015, a deadly crush at the hajj near Mecca killed at least 2,070 people, according to a Reuters tally at the time.

A Saudi study said regional temperatures were rising 0.4 C each decade, and worsening heat may be outpacing mitigation measures.