Deaths at Saudi haj show challenge of shielding pilgrims from lethal climate

Elfatih Eltahir, co-director of the Jameel Observatory and project lead of the Jameel Observatory Climate Resilience Early Warning Systems Network (CREWSnet), is cited in a Reuters article concerning the death of hundreds of pilgrims amid soaring temperatures at this year's haj in Saudi Arabia. Almost two million pilgrims travelled to Mecca in 2024 to perform haj rites. Heat-related deaths are not uncommon, but climate change has made the risks increasingly potent.

"It's a situation that is only getting worse with time," said Elfatih Eltahir, who published a paper on the dangers of heat stress for pilgrims in 2019.