On June 8, 2025, the “Door to Hell” in Turkmenistan, a Central Asian country known for its massive gas-filled crater that has been burning for over half a century, is reported to have its flames significantly suppressed and may soon be extinguished, as announced by officials on June 5.
Located in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, the “Door to Hell” is the country’s most famous tourist attraction, known for its spectacular natural gas fire. Officials in Turkmenistan mentioned that the fire in the area has weakened to one-third of its original intensity, although the specific timeframe of the reduction was not disclosed.
Irina Luryeva, a board member of Turkmenistan’s national oil and gas company, Turkmengaz, stated at an environmental conference in the capital city of Ashgabat, “Previously, the flames could be seen from several kilometers away, hence it was named the ‘Door to Hell,’ but now only a faint source of burning remains.”
Luryeva further explained that the “Door to Hell” was formed due to an accident during drilling exploration, and it has been burning for decades, serving as a significant source of methane emissions. However, the situation has now drastically changed, with experts from the country’s Natural Gas Research Institute drilling multiple gas wells surrounding the crater to collect methane, resulting in a substantial reduction in methane leakage and, consequently, a weakening of the flames.
Turkmenistan is known to be one of the most closed-off countries globally and is estimated to possess the world’s fourth-largest reserves of natural gas.
In 1971, Soviet geologists drilling in the location of the “Door to Hell” discovered a gas-filled cavern, leading to a collapse of the surface beneath the drilling rig, creating a crater with a diameter of 69 meters and a depth of 30 meters. Concerned about the spread of toxic gases affecting nearby towns, the explorers ignited the natural gas, expecting it to burn out in a matter of days. To their surprise, the flames have continued for over 50 years, giving rise to the formation of the “Door to Hell.”
In a sponsored expedition by the National Geographic Channel and a travel agency, Canadian explorer George Kourounis ventured into the “Door to Hell” in November 2013, becoming the first person in history to set foot at the bottom of the flaming crater.
Kourounis likened entering the “Door to Hell” to stepping onto another planet, describing it as resembling a volcano in the desert without the flowing lava. He measured temperatures reaching up to 400 degrees Celsius at the bottom of the crater during his 17-minute exploration, collecting natural gas data and soil samples. Kourounis discovered extremely ancient extremophile bacteria thriving in this methane-rich high-temperature environment, some of which may sustain life by feeding on methane, indicating that such conditions are entirely hostile to human survival.