More than one million Muslims Believers started today (04.06.2025) the big pilgrimage to Meccawhere authorities are making great efforts not to repeat the tragedy of 2024, when at least 1,300 people died of extreme temperatures.
The pilgrims who gathered in the most sacred city, Mecca, of Islam, where the thermometer showed 42 degrees Celsius on the day, began the first ritual of Hajj, the tour around Kaaba, the sacred black rock in the large mosque, to which the Muslims are turning.
Most arrived late at night in Mina, in a valley a few kilometers from Mecca and surrounded by rocky mountains.
“Before Hatz I spent my days looking at the big mosque on television. When he is in Mecca, you have the impression that you no longer belong to this world, “said one pilgrim, the 63 -year -old Hitam.
The pilgrims, almost 1.5 million, according to official figures, will spend their night in Mina’s air -conditioned scenes, and tomorrow Thursday they will go to Mount Arafat, a hill where the Prophet Mohammed addressed his farewell preaching.
Authorities have taken steps to avoid a tragedy like last year, when 1,300 believers died due to the extreme heat, as the temperature reached 51.8 degrees.
This pilgrimage, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, is one of Islam’s “five poles”. All Muslims have to do so at least once in their lives, if they have the media.
This year, the shady zones have expanded by 50,000 square meters, thousands of rescuers and nurses have been mobilized and more than 400 spots with drinking water have been installed. The Saudi authorities also use artificial intelligence to examine data and images provided by a new flock of unmanned aircraft, which have been developed throughout Mecca.
“This year, in Mina, the situation is completely different. We found that most pilgrims remain in their scenes, “Ibrahim al -Mazni said, commenting that” this reflects the successful awareness campaign “.
Earlier this week, authorities called on the faithful to stay in their scenes on Thursday, from 10am to 4pm, when the pilgrimage peaks on Mount Arafat and the desert sun reaches its zenith. In Arafat there are almost no shady sites and those who go there will be exposed to the hot sun directly.
According to Riyadh, 83% of the 1,301 pilgrims who died in 2024 had not received the necessary permission from the Saudi authorities to go to Mecca, which would give them access to infrastructure, such as air -conditioned scenes, which would make their stay more bearable.
The crowd management was also a “puzzle” for local authorities in the past. In 2015 thousands of pilgrims were trampled on, with nearly 2,300 people lost their lives.