As temperatures climb, pilgrims ascend Mount Arafat for hajj climax

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims crowded Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Tuesday, the climax of a potentially record-breaking hajj pilgrimage held in fierce summer heat.

As dawn broke, groups of worshippers recited Koran verses on the rocky rise, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his final sermon.

The ritual is the high point of the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, that officials say could be the biggest on record after three years of Covid restrictions.

More than 2.5 million pilgrims were expected to join the hajj, one of the world's largest religious gatherings and a source of legitimacy for the oil-rich country's royal rulers.

Temperatures soared to 46 degrees celsius (113 Fahrenheit) on Monday as robed worshippers shielded by umbrellas journeyed from Mecca to Mina, where they slept in a giant tented city before the rites at Mount Arafat.

Egyptian schoolteacher Tasneem Gamal said she was emotionally overwhelmed to arrive at Arafat, whose rituals are a compulsory part of the pilgrimage.

"I cannot describe my feelings, I am living a great joy," the 35-year-old woman said.

Gamal is performing the hajj without a male guardian, a requirement that was shelved by Saudi authorities until 2021.

This year, a maximum age limit has also been removed, giving thousands of elderly the chance to attend.

Tuesday provides the biggest physical challenge, as pilgrims will spend hours praying and reciting the Koran on Mount Arafat and in the surrounding area amid high temperatures.

Unlike Mecca, dotted with hotels and malls, and the tents of Mina, air-conditioned shelter is scarce.

As helicopters buzzed overhead, entry roads were packed with worshippers....