More than 1.4 million Muslims have begun this year's Hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi holy city of Mecca, a year after 1,300 people died, mostly due to the extreme heat, APA reports citing BBC.
Saudi authorities say they have stepped up safety precautions for the annual event.
They have planted thousands of trees and installed hundreds of cooling units to help alleviate temperatures forecast to reach 44C (111F).
They have also banned children under 12 and warned pilgrims attempting to undertake the Hajj without an official permit that they face a $5,000 (£3,685) fine and a 10-year entry ban.
As of Sunday, officials said they had stopped more than 269,000 people from entering Mecca.
Officials said 80% the pilgrims who died last year, including hundreds of Egyptians and Indonesians, were unregistered and therefore lacked access to proper air-conditioned accommodation, transport and other amenities when temperatures reached 51C.
Many Muslims cannot afford an official Hajj package - which can cost from $4,000 to $20,000 depending on their country of origin, length of stay and level of comfort - and so enter the Gulf kingdom on tourist or visitor visas.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
