MADINAH — The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Red Crescent, has augmented its efforts to deal with heat stress and sunstroke at the holy sites by setting up several hospitals and health centers for pilgrims. The Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) is expecting extremely high temperatures during the day and moderate climate during the night, with a possibility of showers in the hills around Makkah and Taif, a report in Al-Madina daily said. Eight hospitals at the holy sites are confirmed ready, in addition to the 94 health centers distributed in Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat to respond to heat stress and sunstrokes. The ministry has also provided beds with installed fans, while the Red Crescent distributed emergency teams in several locations that are expected to get congested during Haj. General manager of Makkah's Health for Haj and Umrah, Dr. Mowafag Abu Talib, said about 600 spray fans are available at hospitals at several locations at the holy sites. He said the ministry had notified pilgrims of the importance of taking health precautions and avoiding direct sunlight, especially around midday.
The general manager of the Red Crescent in Makkah, Dr. Khalid Al-Hibshi, said that sunstrokes and heat stress used to be considered dangerous and threatened pilgrims' safety, but that the well-trained medical team and medical equipment meant these issues are no longer a threat, although they still require quick attention. The last three Haj seasons witnessed an increase in the number of sunstroke and heat stress cases recording 234 cases last year. Some officials expect more than 1,200 sunstroke cases this year.
