What’s behind deaths at this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia?

Hundreds of people are thought to have died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia – most of them due to extreme heat as temperatures soared past 51C (123F).

AFP news agency quoted an Arab diplomat as saying 658 Egyptians had died. Indonesia said that more than 200 of its nationals had died. India said 98 people were known to have died.

Pakistan, Malaysia, Jordan, Iran, Senegal, Sudan and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region have also confirmed deaths. The US believes a number of Americans died, the Wall Street Journal reported. Friends and relatives have been searching for those missing in hospitals and posting messages online.

The fallout from the number of deaths has been growing. On Saturday Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stripped 16 tourism companies of their licences and referred their managers to prosecutors for enabling illegal pilgrimages to Mecca.

On Friday Jordan said it had detained several travel agents who facilitated the unofficial travel of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. Meanwhile Tunisian President Kais Saied fired the minister of religious affairs after local media reported 49 Tunisians had died, many of whom were unregistered pilgrims.

Hajj is the annual pilgrimage made by Muslims to the holy city of Mecca. All Muslims who are financially and physically able must complete the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. About 1.8 million people have taken part this year, Saudi Arabia says.

More than half of those who died were unregistered pilgrims and joined the Hajj through irregular channels, leaving them unable to access cooling facilities such as air conditioned tents and buses, AFP reports.

Saudi Arabia has increased safety measures at the Hajj in recent years, but it still faces criticism for not doing enough, particularly for unregistered pilgrims. It has not yet commented publicly on the deaths.

However AFP quoted a senior Saudi official as saying 577 people had died on the two busiest days of Hajj alone – Saturday, when pilgrims prayed in the sun on Mount Arafat, and Sunday during the “stoning of the devil” ritual in Mina.

“This happened amid difficult weather conditions and a very harsh temperature,” the official said.

Here are some of the factors contributing to the deaths.

Unprecedented heatwaves in Saudi Arabia are believed…