Srinagar, May 11 -- Strong winds returned to Kashmir this week and left behind frightened families checking cracks in their walls before going to sleep.

Storms have always visited Kashmir, but the public mood around them has changed. People now speak about weather with a sense of uncertainty that did not exist a decade ago.

That shift comes from experience.

Summers feel hotter, rainfall arrives with greater intensity and spring storms seem more destructive than before. Scientists studying the Himalayan region have repeatedly warned that mountain ecosystems are warming faster than many other parts of the world.

Research on the northwestern Himalayas, including data linked to Srinagar, points to a long-term warming trend nearing 1.6 deg...