Ninety-eighty Indian pilgrims have died in Saudi Arabia during Hajj this year, the government said on Friday. All deaths are due to "natural illness, old age", it added.

"Every year, many Indian pilgrims visit Hajj. This year, 1,75,000 Indian pilgrims have visited Saudi for Hajj so far. The core Hajj period is from July 9 to 22. So far, 98 Indian pilgrims have died. The causes are natural illness and old age," the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Last year the toll was 187, it added.

Over 1,000 pilgrims have died during the hajj this year as Saudi Arabia's Mecca continued to reel under intense heat, AFP reported. Around 658 pilgrims from Egypt have died, according to an Arab diplomat. Of them, 630 were unregistered pilgrims.

Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia have also reported pilgrim deaths.

Several pilgrims are reported to be missing too, with Facebook and other social media networks flooded with pictures of the missing and requests for information.

The hajj pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims with means have to fulfil this religious obligation at least once in their lifetime.

This year's pilgrimage witnessed a scorching heatwave with temperatures crossing 50 degrees Celsius, which is the highest in recent decades.

A Saudi study revealed that temperatures in the pilgrimage area have risen by 0.4 degrees Celsius per decade. In 2023, more than 200 pilgrims died during Hajj, and over 2,000 individuals suffered from heat-related stress as temperatures soared to 48 degrees Celsius.

Source: India Today