More than 1.5 million pilgrims will pray on Mount Arafat in soaring temperatures on Saturday, in the high-point and most gruelling day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Worshippers from all over the world will climb the rocky, 70-metre (230-feet) hill, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Makkah, where Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) had given his last sermon. The desert summer heat is expected to hit 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit), creating challenges especially among the elderly during a day of prayer and reciting the Koran. The Hajj, which takes at least five days to complete and is mostly outdoors, "is not easy because it is very hot", said Abraman Hawa, 26, from Ghana. "We have sun... but it is not as hot. But I will pray to Allah at Arafat, because I need his support," she added. Saudi authorities have urged pilgrims to drink plenty of water and protect themselves from the sun. Since men are prohibited from wearing hats, many carry umbrellas. More than 10,000 heat-related illnesses were recorded last year, 10 percent of them heat stroke, a Saudi official.

The Hajj, one of the world's biggest religious gatherings, is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study that said regional temperatures were rising 0.4C each decade. But Mohammed Farouk, a 60-year-old Pakistani pilgrim, was not put off by the Gulf kingdom's scorching summer sun. The Hajj is "very important for me as a Muslim", he said. The enormous crowds of worshippers spent the night in a giant tented city in Mina, a valley several kilometres outside Makkah, Islam's holiest city. Many of them were tightly packed in the air-conditioned tents, lying close together on narrow mattresses. They were grouped by nationality and price, depending on how much they had paid for their Hajj packages -- usually several thousand dollars. After Arafat they will head to Muzdalifah, where they will collect pebbles to carry out the symbolic "stoning of the devil" ritual in Mina on Sunday.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan