In 2025, Muslim pilgrims from all over the world will participate in the final summer Hajj before taking a break from the hotter months for 17 years.

Hundreds of people died due to extreme heatwaves during the Hajj pilgrimage this year. But there is good news! Reports this week said that next year will be the final Hajj held in the scorching summer heat.

According to Gulf News, Muslim pilgrims from all over the world will take part in the final summer Hajj next year, before it takes a break for 17 years from the hotter months.

This means that the Hajj season will experience a new phase of climate change in 2026. “We won’t see summer Hajj for another 17 years,” said Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesperson for the Saudi National Meteorological Center (NMC), as reported by Saudi Gazette.

In addition, Dr. Mansour Al Mazroui, a member of the Shoura Council and climate change researcher, mentioned in another report that the Hajj season will align with the summer season in 2025.

After that, the Hajj season will take place in the spring for eight years, and then it will switch to the winter season. According to the Islamic lunar calendar, the Hajj will be taking place in the cooler months of spring and winter.

The Gulf report quoted Hussein Al Qahtani, the official spokesperson for the National Meteorological Center, as saying that the change in timing is because of the Islamic lunar calendar, which causes the Hajj dates to move back around 10 days every year.

Changing the timing of the Hajj pilgrimage would help pilgrims by reducing the extreme heat they experience during the journey.

This year, the temperatures at Mecca’s Grand Mosque soared to a hot 51.8 degrees Celsius. The Gulf report mentioned that the upcoming change will bring cooler weather conditions for one of the biggest yearly religious gatherings globally, making the experience better for millions of pilgrims.

A senior Saudi official told AFP that during this year’s summer hajj, there were 2,764 cases of heat exhaustion and sunstroke reported in just one day.

The official mentioned that many pilgrims did not follow health and safety instructions, leading to the high number of cases. The government did not fail, but there was a misjudgement on the part of the people who did not understand the risks.

A group of climate scientists and researchers quickly studied the situation and found that climate change made the deadly heatwave 2.5 degrees Celsius hotter.

Saudi Arabia is getting ready for the Hajj 2025 season as the current Hajj season comes to an end. The General Authority for Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat (Awqaf) stated that registration for the next Hajj season, Hajj 2025, will start in September 2024.