Summer Hajj off! Saudi announcement makes pilgrims happy

The National Meteorological Center of Saudi Arabia has announced that the 2025 Hajj will be the last one to be held in extreme heat, as the Islamic lunar calendar will see the Hajj in cold weather for the next 16 years.

According to the details, the Hajj will be held in spring from 2026 and then in winter from 2034 to 2041. The lunar calendar moves back by about 10 days every year, due to which the Hajj is shifting from summer to spring and winter.

In 2042, the Hajj will return to summer.The change is good news for millions of Muslims around the world who have been performing the Hajj in the scorching heat of Mecca for the past several years.

During the 2024 Hajj, temperatures reached 46 to 51 degrees Celsius, resulting in more than 2,700 pilgrims suffering from heatstroke in a single day and several deaths.Saudi authorities have taken various measures to facilitate pilgrims in view of the severe weather, including providing shaded routes, additional water distribution, mobile cooling units, and heat awareness campaigns.

In 2024, the Saudi government also installed 33 new meteorological stations and expanded the use of modern mobile radar systems to provide immediate weather monitoring along the Hajj routes.More than 1.8 million pilgrims are preparing for the 2025 Hajj, which will be the last time the Hajj will begin in the summer. After that, pilgrims will get some relief from the severe weather for a while.