Muslim worshippers prayed on Mount Arafat during the high point of the hajj pilgrimage Thursday, as authorities urged them to avoid the hottest hours of the day after tragedy struck last year.

Thousands of white-robed pilgrims recited Koranic verses from dawn on the 70-metre (230 feet) rocky rise near Mecca, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon.

But numbers thinned by midday following official warnings for pilgrims to stay inside between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm.

"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 the hajj, which has drawn more than 1.6 million pilgrims to one of the world's hottest regions, according to fresh figures published Thursday.

Barring a few years of Covid restrictions from 2020-2022, this hajj season has recorded the lowest number of pilgrims in over three decades.

The dip comes after 1,301 people died in temperatures that hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) last year -- most of them illegal pilgrims according........

© Al Monitor