As further steps are made to combat this year’s intense heat, which is predicted to reach above 40 degrees Celsius, more than a million Muslims started the once-in-a-lifetime Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
Muslim pilgrims who can afford it and are in good physical condition will spend five days immersed in religious rites that date back over 1,400 years.
To demonstrate a shared devotion to a single God, pilgrims begin their journey in Mecca by making seven anticlockwise circles around the Kaaba, a black cube-shaped building in the middle of the Great Mosque and Islam’s holiest shrine. After that, pilgrims will proceed to other holy locations in Mecca to engage in more rites and religious activities.
The Hajj takes place once a year in the lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, the 12th and final month in the Islamic calendar. Since this year’s annual pilgrimage takes place at the beginning of summer, pilgrims will face an extra obstacle in the form of heat as they attempt to complete the route.
Saudi officials are taking extra precautions to guarantee tourist safety after last year’s oppressive temperatures, which reached as high as 47 degrees Celsius, claimed over 1,300 lives.
Riyadh has invested billions of dollars in cooling systems and crowd control this year. According to local media, pilgrims will be kept comfortable at temperatures between 22 and 24 degrees Celsius thanks to the Grand Mosque’s unique and biggest cooling system.
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