Srinagar, Sept. 9 -- By Zobiya Bhat

The mountains outside Srinagar look permanent from almost any window in the valley. They have held the same horizon for generations, feeding rivers, setting weather and holding the lives of millions inside their geography.

A person can stand under them and feel time slow down, but the instruments watching those mountains tell a less settled story.

Glaciers are changing. Snowfall has grown harder to predict from one winter to the next. Rivers respond differently to weather patterns than they did decades ago. Slopes remain exposed to landslides and other hazards that arrive with little notice.

Satellites track glacier surfaces from orbit, weather stations log temperature and precipitation, and seismic...