The ‘Gates to Hell’ Are Dimming. That May Not Be a Good Thing

It might be the world’s most baffling tourist attraction: a roaring pit of fire the size of a soccer field sitting in a barren desert.

The Darvaza crater, known as the “Gates to Hell,” lies deep in territory of the isolated Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan.

The crater has been burning for decades. Over the years it has become a quirky draw for adventurous visitors and a puzzle for scientists and researchers. It has even been the backdrop for a self-promotional video by a Turkmen president.

But now, the flames of the “Gates to Hell” appear to be going out.

Infrared imaging data taken this year shows that the fires within the natural gas crater are on the decline. The intensity of heat from the flames has diminished by more than 75 percent over the last three years, according to an analysis by Capterio, a company that monitors natural gas flares.

At a time when so many fires — both real and metaphorical — have raged worldwide, this should have been entirely good news. Turkmenistan’s government has vowed for years to extinguish the flames, citing environmental damage and harm to people’s health.

It turns out that the story isn’t quite so simple.

But first, it helps to know more about the crater.

Its origin is mysterious. According to local lore, Soviet geologists were drilling for oil in the 1960s or 1970s when they hit a natural gas deposit in the Karakum Desert. The ground collapsed, creating an enormous pit. The geologists set a fire in the crevice to curb the emission of toxic fumes.

They figured the fire would burn out in weeks. Instead, more than five decades later, a network of tunnels filled with gas continues to fuel the flames.

“The history is always sketchy,” said Rich Beal, a Mongolia-based guide for Koryo Tours who says he has visited the site 30 times. “Nobody quite knows.”

- Author: Jenny Gross, The New York Times

The post continues....