Jakarta –
The temperature in the Holy Land is a challenge for pilgrims currently worshiping. They are at risk of heatstroke due to extreme heat.
Global warming has made Saudi Arabia’s desert climate hotter in recent years. It is reported that the temperature in Saudi Arabia can reach 46 degrees Celsius.
The average summer temperature in Saudi Arabia has increased by 2.5 degrees Celsius over the past four decades due to climate change, said Karim Elgendy, a nonresident researcher at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
“A maximum summer temperature of 50 degrees could become an annual event by the end of the century,” he told AFP.
“Humidity is also expected to increase, making future outdoor conditions very difficult to manage.”
Outside the Grand Mosque in Makkah, water is sprayed from long pillars to keep worshipers cool.
A few yards away, white-robed pilgrims hide on the cool marble floors of shaded entrances to hotels and malls awaiting their next prayer.
More than 32,000 health workers are on hand to help anyone suffering from heatstroke or other ailments, authorities say, while free bottled water is being handed out.
Many pilgrims hold umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun, while others carry prayer blankets folded over their heads.
“The heat here is not normal, it’s (like) hot as hell,” said Nibal Mohammed, a 70-year-old Syrian pilgrim living in Canada.
“I can’t wait to finish my pilgrimage and leave,” he said.
Watch the video “Student in Pakistan dies of heat stroke“
(kna/kna)
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