"The Gates of Hell": a fire has been burning in the Turkmen Karakum desert for more than 50 years

In the heart of the Turkmen Karakum desert, a crater has been burning for more than half a century, which is called the "Gateway to Hell." This is reported by science.mail.ru .

In the Karakum desert, located in Turkmenistan, a crater has been burning for more than half a century, which has been called the "Gate to Hell". It appeared in 1971, when a gas cavity was accidentally opened during drilling. To prevent a gas leak, it was decided to ignite methane, believing that the fire would go out in a few days. However, this did not happen.

Since then, the crater has become the hallmark of Turkmenistan and its main tourist gem, although access to it is limited. However, the beauty of this place hides an environmental problem: the crater has been releasing methane into the atmosphere for decades — a gas that is ten times more dangerous to the climate than carbon dioxide.

According to the information provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Turkmenistan leads the world ranking in the number of methane leaks that occur, among other things, due to such incidents.

At the environmental forum in Ashgabat, Irina Luryeva, Doctor of Technical Sciences, reported that the intensity of gorenje in the crater was reduced by three times. Details about the start of work and their methods have not been disclosed, but, as reported by Agence France-Presse, the basic principle is to drill additional wells around the crater to extract gas before it ignites.

"If earlier the glow from the crater was visible for several kilometers, today it is only a faint glow," said Lurieva.

According to international experts in the field of ecology, the successful extinguishing of a fire in a crater is a significant contribution to reducing the country's climate footprint. Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world in terms of natural gas reserves, and such methane emissions call into question the stability of production.

There is no official confirmation yet that the fire has been completely extinguished, but it is already obvious that the "Gates of Hell" are no longer burning with the same intensity, scientists say.