Next year’s Hajj will mark the final pilgrimage in the summer season for the next 17 years, according to Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the Saudi National Meteorological Center (NMC).
Al-Qahtani announced that the Hajj season will transition to a new climate phase starting in 2026. For the subsequent eight years, Hajj will occur during the spring season, followed by eight years in the winter season.
“We will bid farewell to Hajj in the summer season for a period of 16 years,” he stated, noting that current average temperatures during Hajj range between 45 and 47 degrees Celsius. The extreme heat has resulted in 550 deaths among pilgrims, with the majority being Egyptian, Jordanian, and Tunisian.
Dr. Mansour Al Mazroui, a climate change researcher and member of the Shoura Council, confirmed this transition. The Hajj will start in the winter season in Hijri year 1454, lasting for eight years until Hijri year 1461. It will then shift to the fall season from Hijri year 1462 to 1469, completing the cycle over 33 Hijri years. The Hajj will return to the summer season in the year 1470 and remain there for nine years.
This cyclical shift is expected to provide relief to pilgrims who have endured intense summer heat, making the pilgrimage safer and more comfortable for years to come.
