Can Saudi Arabia balance tradition with safety as the climate crisis deepens? Nearly 2 million people braved temperatures exceeding 50C to visit the holiest city in Islam this month. At least 1,300 of them died. So what went wrong? And what does the future hold for Hajj, as attendance numbers, and temperatures, continue to soar?

Caitríona Perry speaks to BBC Religion Editor Aleem Maqbool and our Egypt correspondent Sally Nabil.

The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.

TGS is part of the BBC News Podcasts family. The team that makes The Global Story also makes several other podcasts, such as Americast and Ukrainecast, which cover US news and the war in Ukraine. If you enjoy The Global Story, you may well like some of our other pods, too. To find them, simply search on your favourite podcast app.

This episode was made by Tom Kavanagh and Peter Goffin. The technical producers were Hannah Montgomery and Julian Farmer. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Hajj: Why over 1,000 Muslim pilgrims have died 26:33 Share

The Global Story

Shownotes Transcript

Hajj: Why over 1,000 Muslim pilgrims have died