In News
- Recently, the President of Turkmenistan has ordered experts to find a way to extinguish a fire in a huge natural gas crater named the Darvaza gas crater.
- It is also known as the ‘Gateway to Hell’.
- It has the crater has been burning for the last 50 years
The rationale behind the order to extinguish it
- It negatively affects both the environment and the health of the people living nearby.
- Turkmenistan has been at the centre of methane leakages.
- Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year.
- Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas.
About ‘Gateway to Hell’
- Located in the Karakum desert, 260 kilometres away from Ashgabat (Ashgabat (Turkmenistan’s capital).
- The crater is 69 metres wide and 30 metres deep.
- In 2018, the country’s president officially renamed it the “Shining of Karakum”.
- In 2013, George Kourounis, a Canadian adventurer, was the first person to go inside the crater in an expedition funded by National Geographic.
- Origin: The details of the origin of the crater are contested but it has been said that the crater was created in 1971 during a Soviet drilling operation.
- According to Locals: the crater was formed in the 1960s but wasn’t lit on fire until the 1980s.
- It has also been said that since oil and gas were very expensive commodities during Soviet rule, the formation of the crater has remained a confidential piece of information.
- Tourist attraction: The crater has become a significant tourist attraction in the country.
- It sees around 6,000 tourists per year.
Source: IE
