Pilgrims pray, shirk sun,

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, says Saudi Haj minister

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Muslim faithful prayed on Mount Arafat in the high point of the Haj pilgrimage 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 holy Quranic verses from dawn on the 70-metre rocky rise near holy city of Makkah, where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is believed to have given his last sermon.

But numbers thinned by midday following official warnings for pilgrims to stay inside between 10 am and 4pm, a year after 1,301 people died in temperatures that hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).

"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 Haj, which has drawn 1.5 million pilgrims to one of the world's hottest regions.

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 hajj minister told AFP last week.