Due to the mistake of Soviet scientists, the ‘door to hell’ started blazing in the middle of the desert, the fire is about to be extinguished after 54 years!

For the past five decades, a fire has been blazing in the middle of Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert, which the world knows as the ‘Gateway to Hell’. This huge gas flame that has been burning since 1971 is finally being extinguished. Recently, the Turkmenistan government announced that this 54-year-old fire has been reduced to a great extent. It has been officially said that its intensity has been reduced three times, although no clear time frame has been given for this.

How did this fire start in the middle of the desert?

This fire is the result of a mistake by Soviet scientists. Actually, in 1971, Soviet geologists were drilling here to search for gas. During the excavation, their drill entered a large underground gas reservoir. The pressure of the gas was so much that the ground collapsed and a large crater was formed, from which a huge amount of methane gas started coming out.

Scientists thought that if this gas is burned, it will be over in a few weeks. But instead of extinguishing, this fire has been burning continuously for the last 54 years.

Now people come from far and wide to see it

Meanwhile, the ‘Gate of Hell’ has become Turkmenistan’s biggest tourist attraction. From a distance at night, it looks as if a huge volcano is erupting in the middle of the earth. Earlier, where its flames were visible from several kilometers away, now only a faint flame is left.

Now the fire has faded

Irina Lureyeva, director of the government energy company Turkmengaz, said during an environmental conference in Ashgabat recently, ‘Earlier, where the glow of the fire was visible from several kilometers away, today only a faint flame is left.’ The government has adopted many new techniques to extinguish this fire. Many wells have been dug in this area to capture methane. Efforts are being made to burn or store the gas through these wells so that its bad impact on the environment is reduced.

This fire had become a threat to the world

In fact, this fire had also become a major threat to climate change. Greenhouse gases like methane were continuously coming out of the Karakum Desert. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Turkmenistan is the country emitting the most methane in the world due to gas leakage. However, local officials have been rejecting this claim.

Turkmenistan has the fourth largest gas reserves in the world. But this country is counted among the most closed countries in the world. The government here usually gives very little information to the outside world. Scientists believe that it will take more time to completely extinguish the ‘door to hell’, but the progress made so far is historic.