The Gateway to Hell is Closing
Officially called the Darvaza crater, it sits in the middle of the Karakum Desert. How the 69m wide, and 30m deep hole formed is a bit of a mystery. Some believe the pit was created by Soviet geologists in 1971. While drilling for oil, they hit a vast underground gas pocket. The ground surrounding it collapsed, forming three huge sinkholes. To prevent the hazardous methane gas from escaping, the team set the crater on fire. Apparently, they assumed the fire burn out in a few weeks, but the flames have persisted for over five decades.
Though this is the most common explanation, geologists from Turkmenistan have said the crater actually formed in the 1960s and was ignited in the 1980s. As its creation happened when Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union, any records to clarify the crater's origin are hard to come by.
Regardless of its beginnings, the Darvaza crater has been a significant source of methane emissions. The greenhouse gas has gushed into the atmosphere for over 50 years. Turkmenistan has faced scrutiny for its methane output and inability to curb methane gas leaks. This not only produces harmful emissions but wastes natural gas. For decades, scientists and environmentalists have been calling for the fire to be extinguished.
In recent years, the Turkmenistan government has intensified efforts to lessen the crater's environmental impact. By drilling several wells around the site to siphon off methane, engineers have reduces the fuel feeding the fire. Now, as a result, the flames have finally started to diminish.
Irina Luryeva, a director at the state-owned energy company Turkmengaz, noted that the blaze, once visible from several kilometers away, now emits only a faint glow. Officials report that the fires are now three times smaller than they were.
Yet this so-called Gateway to Hell has become the secretive country's top tourist attraction, drawing visitors intrigued by its otherworldly appearance. Tour operators have expressed concern over the potential decline in tourism as the flames wane.
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Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
The Gateway to Hell is Closing
Turkmenistan's "Gateway to Hell" is a fiery pit that has burned continuously since 1971. After over half a century, the inferno may finally be subsiding. Officially called the Darvaza crater, it sits in the middle of the Karakum Desert. How the 69m wide, and 30m deep hole formed is a bit of a mystery. Some believe the pit was created by Soviet geologists in 1971. While drilling for oil, they hit a vast underground gas pocket. The ground surrounding it collapsed, forming three huge sinkholes. To prevent the hazardous methane gas from escaping, the team set the crater on fire. Apparently, they assumed the fire burn out in a few weeks, but the flames have persisted for over five decades. Though this is the most common explanation, geologists from Turkmenistan have said the crater actually formed in the 1960s and was ignited in the 1980s. As its creation happened when Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union, any records to clarify the crater's origin are hard to come by. Regardless of its beginnings, the Darvaza crater has been a significant source of methane emissions. The greenhouse gas has gushed into the atmosphere for over 50 years. Turkmenistan has faced scrutiny for its methane output and inability to curb methane gas leaks. This not only produces harmful emissions but wastes natural gas. For decades, scientists and environmentalists have been calling for the fire to be extinguished. In recent years, the Turkmenistan government has intensified efforts to lessen the crater's environmental impact. By drilling several wells around the site to siphon off methane, engineers have reduces the fuel feeding the fire. Now, as a result, the flames have finally started to diminish. Irina Luryeva, a director at the state-owned energy company Turkmengaz, noted that the blaze, once visible from several kilometers away, now emits only a faint glow. Officials report that the fires are now three times smaller than they were. Yet this so-called Gateway to Hell has become the secretive country's top tourist attraction, drawing visitors intrigued by its otherworldly appearance. Tour operators have expressed concern over the potential decline in tourism as the flames wane.
Politico
10-06-2025
- Politico
Why the U.S. government is touting tourism in Afghanistan
Presented by Housing For US HAPPY TRAILS — If you haven't made summer plans yet, here's an idea: Have you considered Afghanistan? The State Department strongly advises against travel for Americans but the Department of Homeland Security has determined that conditions are on the upswing in the perennially war-torn country — and that even tourism is starting to come back. 'Tourists are sharing their experiences on social media, highlighting the peaceful countryside, welcoming locals, and the cultural heritage, according to some reports,' DHS said. The rosy observation appears in a recent DHS notification in the Federal Register, announcing the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for about 12,000 Afghans who have taken refuge in the U.S., part of the Trump administration's larger effort to dismantle refugee programs and remove non-citizens from the country. In a finding that has confounded experts and advocates, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem determined that there have been 'notable improvements' in the security and economy of Afghanistan such that refugees would not be in imminent danger upon their return. Afghanistan used to be a popular draw for foreign backpackers, part of the famed 'Hippy Trail.' That ended with the Soviet invasion in 1979, which ushered in nearly 40 years of conflict. By some measures, the country is indeed experiencing a period of relative calm compared to more recent years. That's because the U.S. is no longer at war with the Taliban thanks to a peace deal signed during President Donald Trump's first term and a chaotic American withdrawal completed under President Joe Biden. The White House still has a hostile view of the Taliban government, including Afghanistan on a list of 19 countries whose citizens are now banned or restricted from entering the U.S. under an executive order that took effect Monday. But in the federal register, DHS notes that attacks involving improvised explosive devices have declined by 72 percent over the past year; the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has fallen to 23.7 million, down from 29 million a year earlier; and GDP rose 2.7 percent. DHS notes approvingly that tourism has increased a whopping 913 percent, reportedly with the encouragement of the ultraconservative Taliban, since the U.S. withdrawal – with about 7,000 people, primarily from China, visiting Afghanistan in 2023. DHS, however, seems to have been selective with its statistics. In the footnotes of its Federal Register notice, the agency three times cites a report from last year by the United States Institute of Peace – an independent organization that the Trump administration and DOGE moved to shut down (a judge has halted the effort but the organization still faces an uncertain future). USIP's report on the state of the country three years into Taliban rule is much less sanguine, concluding that Afghanistan has 'only a façade of domestic stability' and that humanitarian and human rights conditions are 'dire.' Since taking power, the Taliban has issued over 100 decrees restricting the rights of women and girls to education, employment, healthcare and mobility — even declaring that female voices cannot be heard outside the home, according to USIP. Hundreds of men and women have been subjected to public floggings. Authorities have carried out disappearances and extrajudicial killings. In any case, the report was not produced to make a case, one way or the other, for Afghan TPS, said Scott Worden, USIP's director of Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs. 'It's validating to see the US government crediting the quality of USIP's research enough to cite it in an important administrative determination,' Worden said. 'However, the information that is cited in the USIP report does not speak to the specific risks that Afghans who have received TPS face if they go back to a Taliban-run Afghanistan.' The fact that Chinese tourists find the country safe, he said, is not really relevant since their government supported the Taliban. 'That is a totally different circumstance from an Afghan who helped America, who worked closely with Americans will face if they return to Taliban rule and will be subject to persecution or even worse.' As for American tourists, it may be best to stick with the State Department advisory, which flatly recommends 'do not travel.' Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@ Or contact tonight's author at bfox@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ben_foxed. What'd I Miss? — California asks judge to 'immediately' block military from joining ICE raids: Gov. 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Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
The ‘Gates of Hell' Are Closing. That's a Pretty Big Problem.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: The Darvaza gas crater—also known as the 'Gates of Hell'—has been burning continuously for years thanks to its steady supply of seeping methane gas. A new report from the Agence France-Presse suggests that the rate of gas flow has decreased by a third over the course of recent observations. Reports from previous years suggest that the government may be siphoning off the gas using nearby wells. On planet Earth, fire is usually a transient phenomenon—even the strongest of wildfires will eventually succumb to human and/or meteorological intervention. But the same can't be said for the Darvaza gas crater in Turkmenistan, known colloquially as the 'Gates of Hell.' This natural gas field has been burning continuously for decades thanks to its steady supply of seeping methane, and in that time, this devilish pit has become one of the country's most popular tourist attractions despite its location in the middle of the Karakum desert, roughly 160 miles north of the capital city of Ashgabat. Turkmenistan's authoritarian leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has previously stated that he wants to snuff out the Gates of Hell once and for all (though the latest pronouncement came years after he reportedly went off-roading around the crater). Now, a new report suggests those efforts may be bearing fruit. Last Thursday, officials in Turkmenistan said that gas being emitted from the pit has diminished three-fold, though the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that no timeframe for this gaseous decrease was provided. This news is in line with previous reports last year that satellite observations of the Gates of Hell showed a 50 percent decline in emissions. Despite its status as a popular tourist attraction (at least, for a recluse country like Turkmenistan), there's some debate about how the gas crater initially formed. The popular story goes that Soviet prospectors accidentally collapsed a mine in the 1960s and then lit the gas on fire, but local reporting says that the fire was actually started in the 1980s to prevent the harmful gas from escaping. As National Geographic reported in 2013, there are no records or reports of the gas field's initial formation. Although the never-ending burn pit draws its fair share of pyromaniacs, closing off the pit is likely for the best for many reasons. The harmful gas impacts the local population and contributes to climate change—especially since methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas (much more so than carbon dioxide). Berdymukhamedov has called for the closure of the gas crater for at least 15 years, and while filling the pit has been considered, most experts say that the gas would likely just escape somewhere else. However, in the last few years, it appears that the government has made some progress. In 2024, CNN reported that the government was drilling exploratory wells near the crater—both to draw away the pit's methane and to leverage the natural resource for other purposes—but due to the country's secretive nature, CNN adds that these reports are only rumors. Of course, as the flames of the Darvaza gas crater slowly flicker out, some locals are concerned about the loss of tourism dollars from people flocking to the area to see the strange phenomenon. Extinguishing the 'Gates of Hell' may only be the beginning of Turkmenistan's problems. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
