Lightning and hailstorms kill 24 in western India.

Officials in India have reported that at least 24 people have been killed as a result of lightning, heavy rain, and hailstorms.

As a result of the weather, houses have been damaged and livestock has been killed in western Gujarat state.

There is a high probability of storms occurring in Gujarat during winter, according to meteorologists, and the fierce downpour caught many people by surprise.

Every year, thousands of people are killed in India as a result of flash floods and lightning strikes. Extreme weather events are on the rise, as a result of rising global temperatures, according to scientists.

There is a rise in the surface temperatures of the land and sea, which warms the air above and helps provide more energy for thunderstorms to form from where lightning can be seen.

It was expected that rain and hailstorms would continue to affect western India on Monday.

In a statement released late on Sunday, officials stated that at least 18 of the 24 deaths were caused by lightning strikes.

On Sunday and Monday, the Gujarat state experienced heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and hailstorms, with some areas reporting up to 144mm (5.7 inches) of rain in 24 hours, according to data released by the state government, according to Reuters news agency.

According to Manorama Mohanty, head of the Indian Metrological Department in Ahmedabad, the lightning strikes were caused by a collision of three weather systems over Gujarat.

According to Ms Mohanty, these conditions are caused by the easterly winds flowing from the Arabian Sea, the western disturbance over the Western Himalayas, and the cyclonic circulation over South Gujarat,” she told BBC Gujarati.