Saudi Arabia seeks to forestall warmth deaths as Hajj pilgrimage begins
Greater than 1.4 million Muslims have begun this yr’s Hajj pilgrimage within the Saudi holy metropolis of Mecca, a yr after 1,300 folks died, principally because of the excessive warmth.
Saudi authorities say they’ve stepped up security precautions for the annual occasion.
They’ve planted hundreds of bushes and put in tons of of cooling items to assist alleviate temperatures forecast to achieve 44C (111F).
They’ve additionally banned youngsters below 12 and warned pilgrims making an attempt to undertake the Hajj with out an official allow that they face a $5,000 (£3,685) advantageous and a 10-year entry ban.
As of Sunday, officers stated they’d stopped greater than 269,000 folks from getting into Mecca.
Officers stated 80% the pilgrims who died final yr, together with tons of of Egyptians and Indonesians, have been unregistered and subsequently lacked entry to correct air-conditioned lodging, transport and different facilities when temperatures reached 51C.
Many Muslims can’t afford an official Hajj package deal – which might price from $4,000 to $20,000 relying on their nation of origin, size of keep and stage of consolation – and so enter the Gulf kingdom on vacationer or customer visas.
The Hajj is among the 5 Pillars of Islam and takes place within the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
It’s the journey that each grownup Muslim should undertake no less than as soon as of their lives if they will afford it and are bodily in a position.
On the primary day of the Hajj, male pilgrims have been required to vary their garments for 2 white cloths and enter the state of Ihram. Ladies placed on modest clothes and lined their head, however not their face.
The pilgrims headed to Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest web site, and circled the Kaaba 3 times – a ritual often called tawaf. They might additionally stroll seven instances between the hills of Safa and Marwa, often called sai.
They then travelled to Mina, 5km (3 miles) away, the place they may spend the evening in a tent metropolis earlier than heading on Thursday to Mount Arafat, the place the Prophet Muhammad is alleged to have delivered his remaining sermon.
The Saudi well being ministry urged the pilgrims to comply with strict pointers to mitigate the consequences of the warmth, together with avoiding publicity to the solar between 10:00 and 16:00, utilizing umbrellas to shade themselves, and ingesting water recurrently.
Shaded areas have been enlarged by 50,000 sq m (12 acres) and greater than 400 cooling items have been put in, based on the Hajj minister.
The cooling system within the Grand Mosque is the most important on the earth, based on state TV.
Extra rubberized and cooled roads have additionally been constructed to cut back floor temperatures, and synthetic intelligence might be used to watch a fleet of drones and assist handle crowds.
In 2015, greater than 2,300 folks have been reportedly killed in a stampede in Mina.