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Saudi Arabia is stepping up safety preparations for this year’s Muslim Hajj, set to begin Wednesday, a year after 1,301 people died amid extreme heat during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
With more than 1mn people due to arrive in the kingdom at a time of soaring temperatures, authorities have tightened security around Mecca to keep unlicensed pilgrims away from the holy city.
Officials said they have also sought to alleviate the effect of extreme temperatures — which can rise to nearly 50C — by planting 10,000 trees, installing 400 water coolers, and using misting machines.
The government has in recent months repeatedly broadcast messages on billboards, social media and television that pilgrims without a permit would face an increased fine of $5,000 — double that of last year — and a 10-year entry ban.
Officials said the majority of those who died from heat exhaustion last year were unregistered pilgrims who lacked access to proper shelter and other basic services in the heat.
“We are keen for people to only come with a permit because the permit means you receive a full package of transport and accommodation services, which ensures safety,” Tawfig al-Rabiah, Minister of Hajj and Umrah, told the Financial Times.
“They must come on a Hajj visa, not a visit or tourism visa. This helps with organisation and guarantees the safety of pilgrims.”
Saudi security officials said they had stopped 269,678 people without permits from entering Mecca. Officials have also imposed fines on more than 23,000 Saudi residents for violating Hajj regulations and revoked the licenses of 400 Hajj companies.
Both the Saudi public and government take special pride in hosting Muslim pilgrims from around the world who come to Mecca and Medina. Since 1986, the kingdom’s monarch has used the title “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”.
The kingdom has in recent years increasingly promoted religious tourism as part of a plan by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the economy away from its dependence on oil revenues.
Some say the cost of Hajj packages and long waiting lists on the per-country quota system have exacerbated the growing number of unregistered pilgrims in recent years.
In addition to trees and misting machines, authorities are also expanding the deployment of “white roads”, paved using recycled materials designed to reduce heat absorption from sunlight.
A new fleet of drones will feed real-time video footage into a software application that uses AI to monitor the movement and flow of pilgrims to prevent stampedes after 2,300 pilgrims died in one in 2015.
“We know that Mecca is a hot area and we are still in the summertime,” Rabiah said, adding that the government was planning to schedule the movement of pilgrims so they would avoid being outside between 10am and 4pm when temperatures are at their highest.
According to the Islamic religion, Hajj is considered the fifth of five “pillars” and it is mandatory for all adult Muslims to make the journey at least once if they are physically and financially able. About 1.5mn people participate in the annual Hajj, whose timing is determined by the Islamic calendar.
By comparison, Umrah — the lesser pilgrimage — can be performed all year round. The government targets to increase the number of Umrah pilgrims from about 15mn to 30mn by 2030.
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