At least 14 pilgrims die during hajj pilgrimage amid soaring temperatures
At least 14 pilgrims die during hajj pilgrimage amid soaring temperatures
Jordanians died in Saudi Arabia after suffering heatstroke, said officials, with temperatures reaching 47C in Mecca
And it's gonna keep getting worse
Every year, for quite some time going forward, is gonna be worse than the year before, and no safety limit or anything like that until we actually start doing something about it
I'm not sure what humans CAN do.
A few years ago we had a pandemic. And at the start of the pandemic, there wasn't much we could do about it other than stay seperated and wear masks. It wasn't much, but it was all we could do.
Half of society balked at wearing a mask, and refused to do it.
Then, after months of watching nightly news give us higher by the hour covid death tallys, a vaccine came out.
All society had to do to ALMOST IMMEDIATELY kill covid was get a (quite frankly painless) shot in the arm. And then again 2 weeks later.
Again, half of society would rather watch that death toll climb. And sure, NOW we're mostly past it, it was prolonged for 3-4 months at least if not more.
The left basically had to drag the right to the point where their little protests and hissy fits no longer mattered.
And that's just America. You basically need all the humans, and all the corporations in every corner of the planet to all forget all wars, forget all disagreements, forget all grudges, everybody come together and do the same thing for the betterment of all humanity.
No profits. No advantages. No racism. Just everybody do the same thing together.
I just don't see humans capable of that.
It's possible to do, but capitalism and the profit motive disincetivise it
Record high temps AND crowd crush, no fucking thank you
Wait until this guy learns what India is like...
Dying during the Hajj is almost as much a tradition as the Hajj itself, although a bunch of people by heatstroke sounds new.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_during_the_Hajj
Edit: I take that back, not new-
Before the beginning of the first day of the December 2006 Hajj, 243 pilgrims had died, according to a statement by the Saudi government.[39] The majority of deaths were reportedly related to heart problems, exhaustion in the elderly and people with weak health, caused by the heat and tiring physical work involved in the pilgrimage. After the conclusion of the Hajj, the Nigerian government reported that 33 nationals had died mostly "as a result of hypertension, diabetes and heart attack", not due to epidemic illnesses, and rejected assertions that Nigerian pilgrims died in an accident on a road to Mina.[40] Egypt's official news agency has reported that by 30 December (10 Dhu al-Hijjah), 22 Egyptian pilgrims had died.[41] Four Filipino pilgrims in their 50s died during the pilgrimage of illnesses or other 'natural causes', and were buried in Mecca.[42] The Pakistani Hajj Medical Commission has announced that approximately 130 Pakistani pilgrims died during the Hajj season in Saudi Arabia, "mostly aged and victims of pneumonia and heart patients", and that 66 pilgrims were admitted to Saudi hospitals for similar ailments.
Also, not to downplay the reality of climate change, but dying of heatstroke in Saudi Arabia in June was not exactly beyond the pale 100 years ago either.
Dying during a Christian pilgrimage has happend often enough. Our pilgrims log goes back to the time of the black death (actually right after it), and they took a coffin along on their pilgrimage even in the 19th century in case someone died (and, that was the believe, would ascend right into heaven). And yes, people really died doing strenous things for several days in a row that they were not used to.
Given the amount of people on the Hadj, the heat, and the age and medical conditions of quite some of those people, I think we have to give credit to the Saudis that it were just 14.
Agreed. As much as we are definitely going to see climate-related deaths ramp up as things get worse, I just don't think we should be taking this as an example of people necessarily suffering from climate change.
It's also related to having more than 1 million people in a place. Statistically deaths would be guaranteed.
https://ing.org/resources/for-all-groups/calendar-of-important-islamic-dates/
Hajj, 2024: June 14-18
So, basically, this is because the Islamic calendar happened to, this year, specify that the middle of summer was the time to conduct hajj.
If religious authorities could work the theology to do this during a different season, would make a lot of problems go away.
https://travellersworldwide.com/best-time-to-visit-saudi-arabia/
The best time to visit Saudi Arabia is from October to February. This period is cooler, perfect for outdoor activities and sightseeing, and more affordable for a visit.
During the October-February period, Saudi Arabia experiences a lovely drop in temperature that makes it more comfortable for travelers. Highs range from 69F to 94F, so everything from the beach to camping in the mountains is possible!
The worst time to visit Saudi Arabia is in the summer, from June to August. Temperatures soar with little to no rain and hotels and flights are more expensive.
June, July, and August are the worst months to visit Saudi Arabia mainly because of the heat. Temperatures during the summer season range from 107F to 110F in Riyadh, but get as high as 130F in the desert.