New Delhi. An independent group of climatologists and researchers has said that climate change has further increased the heat in Saudi Arabia. Due to this, the temperature there has increased by 2.5 degrees Celsius. At least 550 Haj pilgrims have died due to this extreme heat.

Natural variability likely played a small role, the researchers said. Over the past few weeks, large parts of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia have experienced extreme temperatures.

Among the dead are 323 Egyptians and 98 Indians.

Media reports say at least 550 pilgrims have died during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which began on Friday. Temperatures around the Mecca mosque reached 51.8 degrees Celsius. According to reports, the dead include 323 Egyptians, 98 Indians, 60 Jordanians and five Iranians.

Analysts at the EU-funded Climatometer described it as a "very unusual" event. "We attribute the extreme heat in Saudi Arabia to anthropogenic climate change. Natural variability may have played a minor role," they said.