JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Environmental Compliance announced a 145 percent increase in inspection rounds targeting high environmental impact activities during the Hajj season, compared with the previous season.
Ali Al-Ghamdi, CEO of center, said that this year’s monitoring and inspection relied on more than 200 satellite images, enhanced with artificial intelligence analysis and a team of specialists, to cover a wider area around the Two Holy Mosques and the holy sites.
The center responded to over 100 environmental reports, half of which were detected via satellite imagery, he said. This enabled inspection teams to be directed more accurately and efficiently. Laboratory analysis of samples was also expanded to more than 2,300 tests across the two holy cities.
Al-Ghamdi said that the center conducted over 1,800 inspection rounds during the season, which identified around 250 cases of noncompliance. Of these, 95 percent were related to organizational and administrative aspects, while technical environmental violations with significant impact did not exceed 5 percent.
Regulatory measures were taken in coordination with relevant authorities to address environmental impacts and rehabilitate affected sites.
