68 Indian pilgrims die during Hajj due to extreme heat, death toll rises to 600

Among the 600 people who died during Hajj in Mecca owing to soaring temperatures, 68 were Indian citizens.

A Saudi Arabia diplomat told AFP, “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 death toll has risen from 550 which was notified by Saudi officials on Wednesday.

Fatalities have also been confirmed by Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, though in many cases authorities have not specified the cause.

The highest number of casualties came from Egypt.

The diplomat who confirmed the Indian fatalities said there were also some Indian pilgrims missing, but he declined to provide an exact number.

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“This happens every year… We can’t say that it is abnormally high this year,” he said.

“It’s somewhat similar to last year but we will know more in the coming days.”

Temperatures in the Muslim pilgrim city touched 51.8 degrees Celcius on Monday, according to the National Center for Meteorology.

Most of the rituals of the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage that Muslims are obligated to make at least once in their lifetime, are held outside under the direct sun. Pilgrims are often exposed to extreme heat as they walk around the Kaaba in circles.

The Hajj has been facing the wrath of climate change recently but that is not stopping pilgrims from visiting the holy site. Around 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj this year, 1.6 million of them from abroad, according to Saudi authorities.

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Studies suggest that increasing humidity and temperatures pose a threat to the health of pilgrims. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles predict that the annual pilgrimage could turn more dangerous from  2047 to 2052 and from 2079 to 2086 during the hottest months of the year.

With inputs from agencies