High temperatures are projected for next month’s annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, according to a chief meteorologist.

Weather Predictions for Hajj

Ayman Ghulam, the head of the Saudi National Centre of Meteorology, stated that this year’s Hajj season falls in June, a period typically characterized by high temperatures and humidity levels.

Ghulam told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that a recent workshop explored the climate impact on the 2024 Hajj and strategies for handling food inside pilgrims’ camps during the season. The hot weather puts pilgrims at risk of heat stress.

“It was necessary to be in touch with the concerned agencies and notify them of the weather forecasts at the holy places so that they can take precautions during this year’s Hajj,” the official added.

Preparations for Record Numbers of Pilgrims

More than 2 million Muslims from around the world are expected to attend the upcoming Hajj in and around the Saudi holy city of Mecca.

Saudi agencies involved in preparing for Hajj anticipate record numbers of pilgrims, following the arrival of approximately 30 million Muslims from inside and outside the kingdom for Umrah, or the minor pilgrimage, at the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, in Mecca during the past Islamic sacred month of Ramadan.