MINA: The Saudi Ministry of Health is sending warning messages to all Hajj pilgrims to avoid being exposed to direct sunlight. The Saudi National Center for Meteorology earlier warned of high temperatures at the holy sites, stating that the temperature in Makkah could reach 45 C. The ministry has intensified its preparations to deal with cases of heat exhaustion and heatstroke expected to occur this year. It has allocated 217 beds for heatstroke victims, with 166 beds in hospitals at the holy sites and 51 beds in Makkah. The ministry has also ramped up its awareness and educational messages to this year’s pilgrims. According to the ministry, multilingual awareness messages are being sent to pilgrims in cooperation with telecommunication companies, to help worshippers avoid heat and sunstroke. In one of these messages, the ministry’s spokesman, Mohammed Abdul Aali, advised pilgrims to use umbrellas and drink as much water as needed.