Worshippers prayed on Mount Arafat during the high point of Haj on Thursday as authorities urged them to avoid the hottest hours of the day after tragedy struck last year.

Thousands of white-robed pilgrims recited verses from the Holy Quran from dawn on the 70-metre rocky rise near Makkah, where the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) gave his last sermon.

But numbers thinned by midday following official warnings for pilgrims to stay inside between 10am and 4pm, a year after 1,301 people died in temperatures that hit 51.8 degree Celsius.

“I came here early to [avoid] the sun and later I will pray inside my tent,” said 54-year-old Adel Ismail, from Syria.

Saudi authorities have taken several steps to reduce the risk from heat at Haj, which has drawn more than 1.6 million pilgrims to one of the world’s hottest regions, according to fresh figures published on Thursday.

Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square metres, thousands more medics are on standby and more than 400 cooling units have been deployed, the Haj minister told AFP last week.

The Saudis have also cracked down on unregistered, non-fee paying pilgrims, who lack access to the full amenities and made up more than 80 per cent of last year’s deaths.

On Thursday, icepacks were handed to people walking towards Mount Arafat, with some placing the small bags on their heads. With temperatures reaching 42°C, officials ushered people away if they spent too long in one place near the bouldered hill, which had fans spraying mist and cool air at its foot.

‘I don’t think about the sun’

Late on Thursday afternoon, pilgrims began making their way to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles for Friday’s symbolic “stoning of the devil”.

Despite the heat, they were generally delighted to be performing the Haj.

“I don’t think about the sun or the temperature or anything like that,” said Ahmed, a 44-year-old from Egypt. “Because standing in Arafat is a great thing and a beautiful day, and as you can see, all the pilgrims” are doing it.

Ali, 33, from Pakistan, said he felt “blessed” to take part.

“This is something that I used to see every year on the TV screen during Haj and I always thought: ‘I wish I could be here’,” he said.

Through tears of joy, Iman Abdel Khaleq said she had wanted to perform the Haj for 10 years and was overwhelmed with emotion as she arrived at Arafat.

“It’s a big dream for me that I had almost given up hope of realising,” the Egyptian woman in her 50s told AFP from the foot of the mountain.

High-tech Haj

Saudi officials said the heat-mitigation measures implemented this Haj had largely been successful in preventing a repeat of last year.

“We are encountering a limited number of heat-related illnesses cases this year and this is evidence of the effectiveness of all the organisation measures as well as preventive measures,” said Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aali, Saudi Arabia’s assistant minister of health.

Along with the anti-heat measures and thousands of extra personnel, Saudi Arabia is also using an arsenal of high-tech tools to help better manage crowds.

More than 15,000 cameras run through artificial intelligence software are monitoring the holy sites and walkways during an event that has a history of deadly stampedes.

This year, officials have also clamped down hard on unregistered pilgrims looking to sneak into Makkah, using raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts.

Late on Thursday, a Haj ministry source said the moves had helped stave off overcrowding at the holy sites so far.

Haj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed to individuals by a lottery. But even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs prompt many to attempt Haj without a permit, even though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.

Saudi Arabia earns billions of dollars a year from Haj and Umrah.