Saudi Arabia uses drones to monitor Hajj pilgrims

Summer heat preparations include cooled roads and crowd surveillance technology

Saudi Arabia has announced measures to enhance the experience and safety of pilgrims during this year’s Hajj season, including drones and an expansion of cooled roads.

Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Saleh bin Nasser Al Jasser on Monday outlined preparations for the annual pilgrimage. He said there would be a 30 per cent increase in the use of flexible rubberised roads designed to ease the journey for pilgrims on foot.

He also announced an expansion of cooled roadways, which can reduce surface temperatures by about 12°C – an important measure in the extreme summer heat.

Each year, millions of Muslims from around the world gather in Makkah to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and among the most significant spiritual journeys in the religion.

The pilgrimage spans several days and includes a sequence of highly structured religious rites.

So far, Saudi Arabia has welcomed more than one million pilgrims for this year's Hajj. “The total number of pilgrims arriving from outside the kingdom via international ports until the end of yesterday, Sunday, exceeded one million and 70,000 pilgrims,” Minister of Media, Salman Al Dosari, told a press conference on Monday.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has called on Muslims across the kingdom to look for the crescent moon on Tuesday evening to determine the start of the Islamic month of Dhu Al Hijja, during which Hajj takes place.

Tuesday marks the 29th day of Dhu Al Qadah. If the crescent moon is sighted that evening, Dhu Al Hijja will begin on Wednesday, May 28, and Eid Al Adha will fall on Friday, June 6. If the moon is not sighted, Dhu Al Hijja will start on Thursday, and Eid Al Adha will be observed on Saturday, June 7.

The kingdom has also announced several penalties for those who violate regulations during Hajj – one of the largest mass gatherings in the world.