Hajj season to fall in scorching summer months for next 10 years
Makkah and the surrounding areas will be too hot during the next decade.
RIYADH (Web Desk) - A study, conducted by the Institute of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Hajj and Umrah Research, said the Hajj seasons will fall in the hot summer months of September, August, July and June in the coming 10 years, the Saudi Gazette reported.
The study noted a high rise in cases of sunstroke during last year’s Hajj season and added that sun strokes and other diseases of summer will continue to afflict pilgrims during upcoming seasons.
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It said Makkah and the surrounding areas will be too hot during the next decade and warned pilgrims to take the necessary precautions to remain safe.
The study advised the pilgrims to avoid the direct rays of the sun, use umbrellas, take a lot of water and soft drinks, cover their heads, wear light clothes and put the air conditioner on while taking a bath.
It said the symptoms of sun stroke include hot body temperature, headaches and dizziness, loss of consciousness, fast heart beats and sweating.
According to the study, there were 1,014 cases of heat exhaustion last year, 723 sun strokes and 1,737 heat injuries.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every capable Muslim must perform it at least once in what is the high-point of his or her spiritual life.
Almost 1.4 million foreign pilgrims joined hundreds of thousands of Saudis and residents of the kingdom for last year‘s hajj. They were undeterred by a construction crane collapse at Mecca s Grand Mosque, Islam s holiest site, that killed 109 people including foreign pilgrims in September.
Later, in one of the worst-ever tragedies at the annual Muslim pilgrimage in the same month last year, a stampede killed more than two thousand people and injured hundreds more.
The stampede broke out in Mina during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual.
