Haj

July 8, 2024 6:41 PM

2024 could be world’s hottest year as June breaks records

Last month was the hottest June on record, the EU's climate change monitoring service said on Monday, continuing a streak of exceptional temperatures that some scientists said puts 2024 on track to be the world's hottest recorded year. Every month since June 2023 - 13 months in a row - has ranked as the planet's hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. The lates...

June 28, 2024 4:55 PM

Climate change boosted deadly Saudi haj heat by 2.5 C, scientists say

The heatwave in Saudi Arabia blamed for the deaths of 1,300 people on the haj pilgrimage this month was made worse by climate change, a team of European scientists said on Friday. Temperatures along the route from June 16 to 18 reached 47 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) at times and exceeded 51.8 C at Mecca's Great Mosque. The heat would have been approximately 2.5 C (4.5 F) cooler without the influence of human-caused climate change, according to a weather attribution analysis by Cli...

June 20, 2024 6:33 PM

Millions sweltering under extreme heat worldwide as summer arrives

Dangerous heatwaves are scorching cities on four continents as the Northern Hemisphere marks the first day of summer, a sign that climate change may again bring about record-breaking heat that could surpass last summer as the warmest in 2,000 years. Countries around the Mediterranean have endured another week of blistering high temperatures that have contributed to forest fires from Portugal to Greece and along the northern coast of Africa in Algeria, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and ...

MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA - JUNE 19 : Pilgrims worship and circumambulate around the Kaaba after fulfilling the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on June 19, 2024. (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

June 20, 2024 12:03 PM

Climate change threat hangs over haj pilgrimage as hundreds perish in heat

Nearly 2 million Muslims will reach the end of the haj pilgrimage this week, but extreme heat has proved fatal for hundreds who began the journey last Friday to the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. At least 562 people have died during the haj, according to a tally based on foreign ministry statements and sources. Egypt alone has registered 307 deaths and another 118 missing, according to medical and security sources, as temperatures at times soared past 51 degrees Celsius (...

May 9, 2024 1:26 PM

First batch of Haj pilgrims from Srinagar depart for Saudi Arabia

The first batch of pilgrims from Srinagar departed for Medina in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to perform Haj. "We are thankful to the (central) government for extending us all necessary help. We are delighted that Allah has chosen us to perform Haj at such a young age. I will pray for lasting peace and happiness in Kashmir." a Haj pilgrim said. The inaugural Haj flight from Delhi carried 285 pilgrims. Kausar Jahan, Chairperson of the Delhi State Haj Committee, stated that improved facilities hav...