MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia – Muslim worshippers prayed on Mount Arafat in the high point of the haj pilgrimage on June 5, as the authorities urged them to avoid the hottest hours of the day after tragedy struck in 2024.

Thousands of white-robed pilgrims recited Koranic verses from dawn on the 70m rocky rise near Mecca, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon.

But numbers thinned by mid-day following official warnings for pilgrims to stay inside between 10am and 4pm, a year after 1,301 people died in temperatures that hit 51.8 deg C.

“I came here early to (avoid) the sun and later I will pray inside my tent,” said 54-year-old Adel Ismail, from Syria.

The Saudi authorities have taken several steps to reduce the risk from heat at the haj, which has drawn 1.5 million pilgrims to one of the world’s hottest regions.

Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 sq m, thousands more medics are on standby and more than 400 cooling units have been deployed, the Haj Ministry said last week.

The Saudis have also cracked down on unregistered, non-fee paying pilgrims, who lack access to the full amenities and made up more than 80 per cent of the deaths in 2024.

Ice packs were handed to people walking towards Mount Arafat, with some placing the small bags on their heads.

With temperatures reaching 42 deg C, officials ushered people away if they spent too long in one place near the bouldered hill, which has fans spraying mist and cool air at its foot.

‘I don’t think about the sun’

After sunset, the pilgrims will head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles for the symbolic “stoning of the devil” on June 6.

Despite the heat, they were generally delighted to be performing the haj, one of the five pillars of Islam that must be completed at least once by all Muslims with the means.

“I don’t think about the sun or the temperature or anything like that,” Ahmed, a 44-year-old from Egypt, said. “Because standing in Arafat is a great thing and a beautiful day, and as you can see, all the pilgrims” are doing it.

Ali, 33, from Pakistan, said he felt “blessed” to take part.

“This is something that I used to see every year on the TV screen during haj and I alw...