Riyadh: According to the head of Saudi Arabia’s National Meteorological Center, Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase next month.
Ayman Ghulam said this year’s Hajj season, which runs from June 24 to June 29, will coincide with “the hottest time of the year” in the region. Temperature and humidity levels are usually high during this time.
“We need to contact the relevant organizations and inform them about the weather forecast in the holy places,” Ghulam said after a seminar on climate impacts on the 2024 Hajj.
The extreme heat poses a major health threat to the more than two million Muslims who are expected to take part in the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and its surrounding holy sites each year. Saudi Arabian authorities expect the number of pilgrims to increase after 30 million umrah pilgrims arrive during Ramadan.
