Muslim pilgrims dem dey pray for Mount Arafat on Thursday, wey be di main point for di annual Hajj pilgrimage. Saudi officials don advise make people no dey outside during di hottest time for di day.

Thousands of pilgrims don start to gather before day break for di hill and di plain wey dey around am, where dem believe say Prophet Mohammad give im last sermon.

Some people reach early to enjoy di cool morning breeze, carry colourful umbrellas, but many pilgrims go stay for hours dey pray and dey read Quran until evening. Dis na di most tasking part of di Hajj.

After di sun go down, dem go waka go Muzdalifah, wey dey between Arafat and di big tent city of Mina. For there, dem go gather stones to do di symbolic "stoning of di devil."

"Dis na something wey I dey see every year for TV during Hajj, and I dey always think say, 'I wish say I fit dey here,'" na wetin 33-year-old Ali from Pakistan talk. Him be one of di 1.5 million pilgrims wey don reach Saudi Arabia for di pilgrimage.

"I don dey try come here for di past 3 years," him add as him dey look di mount. "I dey feel very blessed."

Hundreds of pilgrims wey wear white dey di mount, while plenty others dey di foot dey pray.

Earlier dis week, Saudi authorities don tell pilgrims make dem stay inside their tents between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm on Thursday, when di desert sun dey hottest.

Fans wey dey spray mist and dey provide cool air dey di foot of di mount to help people cool down.

Di temperature dis year don pass 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) as di Hajj, wey be one of di biggest religious gatherings for di world, don start earlier dis week.

‘Na big dream’

Officials don increase efforts to manage di heat well well to avoid wetin happen last year, wey 1,301 pilgrims die as temperature reach 51.8C.

"I come here early to avoid di sun, later I go pray inside my tent," na wetin 54-year-old Adel Ismail from Syria talk.

To make di pilgrimage safer dis year, authorities don expand infrastructure, deploy thousands of extra workers, and use high-tech tools to manage di crowd better.

Dem don mobilise more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, double di effort to fight heat-related sickness after di deadly heat wave of 2024.

Shaded areas don increase by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), thousands of medics dey standby, and more than 400 cooling units go dey work, di Hajj minister talk.

Through tears of joy, Iman Abdel Khaleq talk say she don dey plan to do Hajj for 10 years and she dey full of emotion as she reach Arafat.

"Na big dream for me, I almost give up hope," di woman wey dey her fifties talk from di foot of di mount.

Authorities talk say most of di deaths for 2024 na from unregistered pilgrims wey no get access to things like air-conditioned tents and buses.

Dis year, dem don crack down on unregistered pilgrims wey dey try sneak enter Mecca, use drone surveillance, raids, and plenty text alerts.

Hajj permits dey allocated to countries based on quota, and dem dey share am to people by lottery.

But even for people wey fit get di permit, di cost dey high, so many dey try do Hajj without permit, even though dem fit face arrest and deportation if dem catch dem.

Saudi Arabia dey make billions of dollars every year from Hajj and di smaller pilgrimage wey dem dey call Umrah, wey people fit do for other times of di year.