Saudi Arabian authorities released 25-year Hajj calendar on Monday as this Hajj 2025 season concludes. The next Hajj also marks the start of the annual pilgrimage season moving to milder seasons due to the shift in the lunar calendar cycle,
From next year till 2025, the Hajj will be held in milder seasons — spring, winter, and autumn — thereby offering the pilgrims a huge relief from the searing heat.
Hussein Al Qahtani, spokesman of the National Centre for Meteorology (NCM), said that this year’s Hajj season marks the end of the Hajj season coinciding with the summer months. The next eight Hajj seasons will occur during spring, followed by eight more in winter, then in autumn with gradually rising temperatures, before returning to summer after approximately 25 years, Qahtani was quoted by The Gulf News.
The pilgrimage season is calculated based on the Hijri (Islamic) calendar, will align with the Gregorian calendar seasons through to 2050.
While the Hajj season will fall between Spring in 2026 and 2033 (May-March). It will fall during the winter from 2034 to 2041 (February- January, later December). From 2042–2049, the season will be held in Autumn (November- September). It will finally return to Summer in 2050.
Umrah visa
Saudi Arabia has resumed issuing Umrah visas from Tuesday enabling foreign pilgrims to return to Mecca and Medina as the Hajj season ended.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah earlier confirmed the start of the new Umrah season, noting that the first wave of foreign pilgrims is expected to arrive on Wednesday.
Unlike Hajj, Umrah is not restricted to specific dates and can be performed year-round and the current cycle will extend into 2026.
