Turkmenistan’s ‘Gateway to Hell’ Flame Is Finally Dying Out After 50 Years
After burning continuously for over half a century, the infamous “Gateway to Hell” in Turkmenistan is finally starting to fade—thanks to a declining supply of natural gas.
According to Vice on June 6, Turkmen officials confirmed that the flames inside the massive crater are now just a third as intense as they once were. The fiery glow, once visible for miles across the Karakum Desert, is now barely detectable unless standing nearby.
“The light used to be seen from kilometers away. Now it’s just a weak flame,” said Irina Luryeva, director of the state-owned energy company Turkmengaz.
The crater—officially named the Darvaza gas crater but famously known as the “Gateway to Hell”—is a 70-meter-wide sinkhole that has been ablaze since the early 1970s. Formed when a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punctured a massive underground gas pocket, the site collapsed and began leaking methane. Scientists decided to ignite the gas, assuming it would burn off within days. Instead, the flame has raged for more than 50 years.
Experts believe the crater is connected to a vast underground methane reservoir, which has sustained the fire for decades.
In 2022, former President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov vowed to “extinguish the Gates of Hell” and launched a project aimed at capping the crater. Since then, at least two new wells have been drilled nearby to capture leaking methane, and previously inactive gas pumps have been reactivated to help siphon off remaining reserves. Recent well data confirms the gas supply feeding the crater is dwindling—causing the flames to weaken.
The news has been welcomed by environmental advocates, who have long raised concerns over Turkmenistan’s massive methane emissions. While the fire at Darvaza has burned off some of the leaking gas, much of it still escapes directly into the atmosphere. Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and a major contributor to climate change.
Redirecting the gas into collection wells for safer storage and use in energy production is expected to significantly reduce Turkmenistan’s carbon footprint.
(Sources: Vice, Daily Mail)
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