How is the Amu Darya formed from rivers that drain the Pamirs?

The Amu Darya is formed by the confluence of two principal rivers that drain the Pamirs: the Panj River and the Vakhsh River.12

The process is driven by the region's high-altitude climate, where winter snowfall sustains extensive glaciers and snowfields in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains. The Panj River itself is formed by the junction of the Vākhān and Pamir rivers along the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, fed by this glacial and snow melt. The Vakhsh River system, which includes the Kyzylsu-Surkhob-Vakhsh chain, also collects significant meltwater from the mountain ranges.31

These two rivers flow westward and join to form the Amu Darya, which then carries this mountain-sourced water toward the lowlands. The river's flow is highly dependent on this seasonal cycle, typically increasing in the spring and summer as temperatures rise and the mountain ice and snow melt.12