On June 14, this year’s Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, will begin. As always, it will be a unique spiritual journey for nearly two million Muslims from more than 180 countries.

Yet this year, the physical challenge will be greater than ever: exceptionally high temperatures are forecast, raising serious concerns among officials and experts. 

“The climate during this year’s Hajj in Mecca and Medina will be 1.5 to 2 degrees above normal,” warned Ayman Ghulam, head of the Saudi Meteorological Center. For Mecca, that means temperatures around 44 degrees Celsius, greatly increasing the risks of heatstroke and dehydration. 

To ease the impact, authorities have installed misting systems, water stations, and air conditioning in the Grand Mosque and surrounding tents. Still, many pilgrims will spend up to 30 hours outdoors, making heat prevention a daunting challenge. 

This issue goes beyond the event itself. Studies from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia show regional temperatures have risen by 0.4 degrees per decade over the last 40 years.

In the most extreme scenarios, they could climb by 5.6 degrees by the end of the century. “Some areas of the Arabian Peninsula could become uninhabitable,” warns Tobias Zumbrägel, a researcher at Heidelberg University. 

Short-term measures like climate-controlled tents and humidifiers may offer temporary relief. But according to Zumbrägel, real progress requires international cooperation and stronger climate research policies. 

Andrew Gilmour, director of the Berghof Foundation and author of The Burning Question: Climate and Conflict – Why Does it Matter?, notes that climate change in the Middle East is advancing twice as fast as the global average. He argues that wealthy oil producers like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar should help poorer nations like Iraq and Libya, which lack the financial capacity to diversify their economies. 

With its massive sovereign wealth fund, Saudi Arabia is uniquely positioned to lead a regional shift toward more sustainable energy models. Without such action, experts warn, extreme heat could turn the Hajj into an increasingly dangerous test of endurance.