Fact check: Viral video of heavy rainfall in Masjid al-Haram is old from Oct 2024

Several users and news outlets have been sharing a video across social media platforms since September 13, 2026, allegedly showing recent heavy rainfall in Makkah’s Masjid al-Haram. However, the video is old from October 22, 2024. On September 13, heavy rain and thunderstorms hit Makkah, creating dramatic scenes as worshippers prayed at the Grand Mosque. Saudi authorities issued flood warnings, urging residents and visitors to avoid valleys and low-lying areas. How it started On September 13, a user shared a video on X, claiming that it shows rainfall in Masjid al-Haram with the following caption: “Mashallah, Lord of Mercy and rains of mercy.” The post gained 673,300 views. Another user shared the same clip with the following caption: “Rains on the Sacred Mosque on Sunday, September 13.” The post racked up 271,000 views. News outlet Independent Urdu shared a video montage with the same clip with the following caption: “Pilgrims worshipping in heavy rain at Masjid al-Haram,” gaining 2,000 views. Al Jazeera English, an international news outlet, also posted a compilation of the clip in the same context. The post accumulated 190,000 views. Middle Eastern news outlet Gulf Daily News also posted the same clip on its official website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts with a similar caption, gaining 176,000 views. Jordanian newspaper Saraya also posted the same clip with the following headline: “Watch the video: Blessed rains pour down on the Grand Mosque in Makkah”. It gained 71,000 views. In a similar context, several other users shared the video on Instagram and X, as shown here and here, collectively gaining 19,000 views. Methodology A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality. A keyword search conducted yielded several Pakistani and international media outlets such as The Nation, Arab News, U.A. News, Al Arabiya English, and Express Tribune sharing different videos of heavy rain in the Grand Mosque. However, none shared the viral video in question. Official government accounts, such as those of the Makkah region, had also shared other videos of heavy rain in Makkah but did not share the video in question Inside the Haramain, an unofficial media outlet that shares news and updates related to the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, also shared videos of rain in Masjid al-Haram but not the viral video in question. A reverse image search conducted to trace the original video yielded a clip shared by a user on Instagram with the caption: “Heavy rain coming to Makkah this winter – are you ready for it?”         View this post on Instagram                       The video was shared on October 22, 2024, which shows that the video in question is old. The same video shared in October and November 2024 was also found to have been shared by other users as well.         View this post on Instagram                       Fact-Check status: false The claim that a viral clip shows heavy rainfall in Masjid al-Haram is misleading. The video is old from Oct 22, 2024. This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.