jordan pulse -

The death toll among pilgrims in Mecca has reached 577, mostly due to heat-related causes, according to an AFP count. At least 323 Egyptian pilgrims died while performing Hajj in Mecca, two Arab diplomats told AFP on Tuesday. One diplomat, coordinating his country's response, stated, "All died from heat" except one who sustained fatal injuries in a minor stampede, adding that the figures came from the mortuary of the Al-Mu'aysim hospital in Mecca.

Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the death of 41 Jordanian pilgrims during Hajj. The diplomats added that the total number of bodies in the Al-Mu'aysim mortuary, the largest in Mecca, reached 550, raising the death toll to 577, according to AFP.

Hajj is increasingly impacted by climate change, with a Saudi study published last month indicating a 0.4% temperature increase per decade in the region where the rituals are performed. This year, approximately 1.83 million pilgrims participated, with 1.6 million from abroad, according to Saudi authorities.

Every year, tens of thousands attempt to perform Hajj without official visas to save money, making the pilgrimage more dangerous as these unregistered pilgrims cannot access the air-conditioned facilities provided by Saudi authorities. The diplomat stated the death toll among Egyptian pilgrims "certainly" rose as many were unregistered.

Earlier this month, Saudi officials evacuated hundreds of thousands of unregistered individuals from Mecca before Hajj. Other countries reporting deaths during this year's Hajj include Tunisia, Indonesia, Iran, and Senegal.

Iran's Islamic Republic News Network reported Tuesday that 11 Iranians died and 24 were hospitalized without specifying the causes. The Senegalese Press Agency reported Monday that three Senegalese citizens died during Hajj. Data from Indonesia's Ministry of Health showed 144 Indonesians died during Hajj, without clarifying if any deaths were due to heatstroke.

Jameel Abu Al-Aynain, head of emergency, disaster management, and ambulance services at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health, said no unusual deaths were observed among pilgrims performing Hajj in extreme heat. He told Reuters, "We did not observe, thankfully, anything abnormal or a deviation from the normal numbers of medical cases and deaths."