Science
‘Gateway To Hell’ Crater Finally Burns Out After Nearly 50 Years Of Fiery Inferno
For almost a century, Turkmenistan’s notorious ‘Gateway to Hell’ crater has been burning continuously.
However, according to scientists, the gateway is finally closing.
When foolish Soviet scientists attempted to set fire to an underground pocket of gas after inadvertently drilling into it in 1971, this flaming pit was created.
Since then, the gateway has grown to be a major source of methane emissions and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the remote country.
Scientists say a decreased flow of naturally flammable gas is causing the crater’s flames to fade.
According to officials, the fires are now only visible in the immediate area and are three times smaller than they were previously.
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,” sometimes called the “Shining of Karakum,” is a sinkhole in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan that is 230 feet (70 meters) wide.
The crater, which is surrounded by hundreds of gas flames that give it an otherworldly glow, is situated over a sizable pocket of natural gas that is constantly seeping towards the surface.
When the nation was a part of the Soviet Union, officials concealed the pit’s precise origin, so there is no official record of the incident.
But the most widely believed explanation is that a natural gas prospecting accident formed the hole.
A rogue Soviet gas drilling station in the 1970s created a crater that started to seep gas into the air after it penetrated a gas pocket and collapsed through the earth.
In order to stop the poisonous fumes from escaping and spreading farther, the scientists made the decision to light the crater on fire.
These scientists may have anticipated that the fire would burn for a few days before extinguishing, yet the Gateway to Hell’s fires have continued to burn ever since.
The fourth-largest natural gas reserves in the world are thought to be found in Turkmenistan, mostly strewn across areas beneath the desert.
This enormous subterranean methane reservoir is probably connected to the crater, providing it with a virtually limitless supply of gas to burn.
An unusual national treasure, this flaming hole was created by a Soviet-era accident.
To refute rumours that he had died, national leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov videotaped himself driving a rally car around the pit in 2019. The spot is frequented by Turkmenistan’s few tourists who camp by the warmth of the burning methane.
Berdymukhamedov, however, declared in 2022 that he wished to be known as the man who shut down the gates to hell and started a project to extinguish the fires.
“We are losing valuable natural resources for which we could get significant profits and use them for improving the well-being of our people,” Mr. Berdymukhamedov said in a statement at the time.
In order to stop extra methane from leaking to the surface, at least two new wells have since been drilled around the pit.
To aid in extracting the natural gas, older, defunct gas pumps in the region have also been turned back on.
The evidence from these neighbouring wells indicates that the gas supply to the crater has been drastically cut off.
As a result, the notorious flames have become smaller.
Environmentalists worried about Turkmenistan’s history of natural gas leaks will be relieved by the statement.
One of the most powerful greenhouse gases that significantly contributes to climate change is methane.
According to a recent International Energy Agency report, Turkmenistan is the world’s biggest source of methane emissions from gas leaks, a claim the government contests.
Similarly, the UK’s total carbon emissions for 2022 were less than the amount of global warming caused by leaks from two fossil fuel fields in the nation, according to intelligence firm Kayrros.
The pit continues to leak enormous amounts of gas into the atmosphere, even if the fires at the Gateway to Hell did help burn off some of the escaping gas.
The nation’s excessive carbon footprint may be reduced by extracting the natural gas and storing it safely in other wells for use in energy production.
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