LUCKNOW, Jan. 24 -- In a sudden change in weather, more than 20 districts in Uttar Pradesh woke up to heavy rain on Friday morning, while hailstorms were also reported in parts of western UP, including Meerut, where hailstones of the size of peas battered fields and flattened standing crops.

In a separate incident in Meerut, lightning struck a religious structure, triggering an intense fire that took firefighters 45 minutes to control. Noida and Ghaziabad experienced steady drizzle accompanied by strong winds since late on Thursday night. The adverse weather kept people indoors, leaving roads largely deserted.

On Friday morning, thunderstorms were also reported in Ghaziabad and Saharanpur, and gusty winds with a speed of 39 km/h were re...