Future health threat for Mecca pilgrims

Australian Medical Association/AusMed

The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca could be hampered in future years with health threats caused by the ‘extreme danger’ of climate change, a new study is warning.

Published in Geophysical Review Letters, the study found that Mecca in Saudi Arabia will experience alarmingly higher temperature summers, with heat and humidity potentially having a severe impact on the pilgrims.

Known as the Hajj, the pilgrimage involves several days of lengthy outdoor activities. While the timing of the Hajj varies, for the past two years it has been during the hottest months of summer. There will be numerous periods in the decades ahead – particularly in the middle of this century – when the Hajj will again take place at the height of summer, with those years predicted to be increasingly hotter.

“When it comes in the summer in Saudi Arabia, conditions become harsh, and a significant fraction of these activities are outdoors,” study author Professor Elfatih Eltahir said.

“Because the Hajj is a very strong part of the culture in Muslim communities, it’s important for Saudi Arabian officials to prepare to reduce the health risks posed by extreme heat and humidity.”

Professor Eltahir is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. He said drastic steps might need to be taken.

“This study should help in informing policy choices, including climate change mitigation policies as well as adaptation plans,” Professor Eltahir said.

“In the potentially dangerous years ahead, it may be necessary to severely limit the number of participants allowed to take part in the ritual.”

The study notes, however, that even with significant steps taken to limit the impacts of climate change, the health threat will still be present. The danger will be even greater though if nothing is done.

Authorities have put some things in place already in recent years, including installing water mist nozzles in various outdoor locations, and expanding gatherings areas in order to reduce overcrowding.

Hajj is a religious duty and the 1.8 million Muslims worldwide must individually make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if health and finances allow.

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