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France 24
7 days ago
- France 24
Turkmenistan's methane-spewing 'Gateway to Hell' loses its anger
Once a giant uncontrollable pit of red flames and glowing red embers, the 70-metre (230 feet) wide hole is now just a charred cauldron with only a few pockets of small fires. After letting it burn for 50 years, authorities in the reclusive Central Asian state have finally moved to put out the fire, which spews huge quantities of methane into the atmosphere. "I'm a little disappointed," said Irina, 35, who travelled five hours north from the capital Ashgabat to get to see what she thought would be an inferno in the Karakum desert. "On the internet we saw impressive pictures of burning flames. Now we realise they were old photos and videos. The reality is different," she told AFP. Reducing the fire is an important step for Turkmenistan's climate ambitions. The world's biggest methane emitter through gas leaks, according to the International Energy Agency, it has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. But putting out the fire means killing off the Darvaza gas crater as the country's top tourist attraction. Several nearby wells have been drilled to reduce the flow of gas. "Whereas before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name 'Gateway to Hell', today only a faint source of combustion remains," Irina Luryeva, a director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz, told a conference in June. 'Risking your life' The road from Ashgabat to the crater is covered with cracks and potholes, making the journey for would-be tourists treacherous. "You have to swerve round the potholes and sand dunes, risking your life," driver Aman, 28, told AFP at a gas station on the way. The desert covers some 80 percent of the country and sees temperatures soar to more than 50C in summer and plunge to minus 20C in the winter. It is also home to vast natural resources, with Turkmenistan estimated to have the world's fourth largest gas reserves. It was Soviet scientists, exploring the region's potential, who set the crater on fire after they accidentally drilled into an underground pocket of gas in 1971. "There was a danger of poisoning the local population and farm animals, so the geologists decided to set it on fire, hoping that it would soon burn out," said Turkmen geologist Anatoly Bushmakin. "However, the crater is still burning," he added. Under long-time president, now 'father-of-the-nation', Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan had flipped between wanting to tame the crater or use it to boost tourism to the isolated country. In 2022, Berdymukhamedov finally ordered it be extinguished completely -- citing both environmental and economic concerns. It "has a negative impact on both the environment and the health of people living nearby," he said. "Valuable natural resources are being lost, the export of which could generate significant profits and be used to improve the well-being of our people," he added. 'Lost income' Turkmenistan has also signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, which aims for a 30-percent global reduction in methane emissions by 2030. But not everybody is on board with the plan. Locals that relied on the the draw of the pit's spectacular appearance for their income are worried. "If Darvaza stops burning completely, many tourist companies will lose income," said Ovez Muradov, 43, who works in a tour agency in Ashgabat. The Gateway to Hell was one of the only tourist attractions in Turkmenistan, one of the most closed and repressive countries in the world, according to rights groups. The country sees hardly any foreign visitors, though leaders have talked up the prospects of boosting numbers. Muradov said extinguishing the fire would douse those ambitions. "I'm no expert, but I don't think the extinguished crater will have much impact on the environment, but the tourism industry will lose a significant chunk of income." © 2025 AFP
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
The Gateway to Hell is CLOSING: Fire in mysterious giant crater that has been burning for 50 years after blundering Soviet scientists set it alight is reduced to 'faint' blaze
The infamous 'Gateway to Hell' crater in Turkmenistan has been burning non-stop for the last 50 years. But scientists now say that the gateway is finally closing. This blazing pit was formed in 1971 when blundering Soviet scientists accidentally drilled into an underground pocket of gas and decided to light it on fire. Since then, the gateway has become both one of the reclusive nation's leading tourist attractions and a major source of polluting methane emissions. According to scientists, the flames in the crater are beginning to dim due to a reduced flow of natural flammable gas. Officials say the fires are now three times smaller than in the past and can only be seen in the immediate vicinity. Irina Luryeva, a director at state-owned energy company Turkmengaz told a fossil fuel conference this week: 'Before a huge glow from the blaze was visible from several kilometres away, hence the name "Gateway to Hell". 'Today only a faint source of combustion remains.' The 'Gateway to Hell', known officially as the 'Shining of Karakum', is a 230-foot-wide (70m) sinkhole located in Turkmenistan's Karakum desert. Located above a vast pocket of natural gas which continuously seeps towards the surface, the crater is lined with hundreds of gas fires which give it an unearthly glow. The exact origin of the pit was covered up by officials when the country was part of the Soviet Union, leaving behind no official record of the incident. However, the most commonly accepted theory is that the pit was created by a natural gas prospecting accident. During the 1970s a rogue soviet gas drilling station punctured a gas pocket and collapsed through the ground, forming a crater which began to leak gas into the air. The scientists decided to ignite the crater to prevent the toxic gases from escaping and spreading further. While these scientists might have expected the blaze to last for a few days before going out, the fires of the Gateway to Hell have been burning ever since. Turkmenistan is estimated to have the world's fourth-largest reserves of natural gas, largely scattered in pockets beneath the desert. What is the Gateway to Hell? The Gateway to Hell, officially known as the Shining of Karakum, is a sinkhole located above a large pocket of natural gas in Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert. As this gas seeps through the ground, it feeds fires which have been burning since the 1970s. The pit is 230 feet wide (70m) and 98 feet deep (30m). The Gateway to Hell is visited by an estimated 6,000 foreign visitors per year. In 2013, Canadian explorer George Kourounis descended into the crater to collect soil samples. His study revealed that simple organisms have been able to survive within the burning pit. The crater is likely connected to this vast underground store of methane, giving it an almost unlimited supply of gas to burn. This burning pit caused by a Soviet-era disaster has become something of an unlikely national treasure. Turkmenistan's few tourists flock to the site to camp by the warmth of the burning methane and, in 2019, national leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov filmed himself driving a rally car around the pit to dispel rumours of his death. However, in 2022 Berdymukhamedov announced that he wanted to be remembered as the leader who closed the gates to hell and launched a project to cut off the fires. Speaking at the time, Mr Berdymukhamedov said: 'We are losing valuable natural resources for which we could get significant profits and use them for improving the well-being of our people.' Since then, at least two new wells have been drilled around the pit to capture excess methane which would otherwise leak to the surface. Older, decommissioned gas pumps in the area have also been reactivated to help draw away the natural gas. According to the evidence from these nearby wells, the crater has seen a significantly reduced supply of gas. This, in turn, has led to the infamous flames dwindling in size. The announcement will come as good news to environmentalists concerned about Turkmenistan's record of natural gas leaks. Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas which contributes heavily to climate change. A recent study published by the International Energy Agency found that Turkmenistan was the world's largest emitter of methane through gas leaks, although the country disputes this claim. Likewise, intelligence company Kayrros found that leaks from two fossil fuel fields in the country contributed more to global warming in 2022 than the UK's entire carbon emissions for the year. While the fires at the Gateway to Hell did help burn off some of the escaping gas, the pit still leaks vast quantities of gas into the atmosphere. Drawing off the natural gas into other wells where it can be safely stored and used to make energy would help the country cut its outsized carbon footprint. Methane is a colourless, odourless flammable gas, and the main constituent of natural gas. Methane is a greenhouse gas, and the second biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide. It is also the primary component of natural gas, which is used to heat our homes. When methane is burned as a fuel, it gives off carbon dioxide (CO2), and so is not directly emitted at that point. However, across all points of the extraction, transport and storage processes there are leaks of natural gas that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
