The heat of Hajj claims the lives of 14 Jordanians and 17 missing people

Jordan coordinates with Saudi Arabia the procedures for transporting bodies. The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it is working with the Saudi authorities to bury the bodies or transport them based on the wishes of their families.

Hajj is one of the largest mass gatherings in the world, with the number of pilgrims this year reaching more than 1.8 million. The event has a history of disasters, including mass trampling and tent fires, but the main challenge is often the extreme heat.

The head of the Saudi Meteorological Center warned of rising temperatures. Ayman Ghulam reported that the average temperatures in Mecca and Medina are 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius higher than normal. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that a treatment center near Mount Arafat recorded 225 cases of heat exhaustion.

The Saudi authorities took measures to reduce the temperatures. Many air-conditioned areas were created, in addition to distributing water and providing advice to pilgrims on how to protect themselves from the sun’s rays. The Saudi Ministry of Health also urged pilgrims to stay hydrated and avoid being outdoors between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The Hajj ends on Wednesday. Last year, at least 240 people died during the Hajj season, and the worst disaster occurred in 2015, when a mass ramming killed more than 2,000 people.