Weather of Arabia - The President of Turkmenistan has ordered the extinguishing of what is known in the country as the "Gate of Hell", a gas crater that has been burning in the desert for decades, and no one knows the truth about it specifically, but it seems that the time has come for its time to end.
The "gas crater" or "Darvaza crater" in the Qara Kum desert is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Turkmenistan, but there is a lot of mystery surrounding its origins, and many believe that it dates back to the failed excavations carried out by the Soviets in 1971.
But the Canadian explorer, George Coronis, inspected the depth of the crater in 2013 and found out that no one knows how it arose, and local geologists believe that the crater was formed in the sixties, and did not ignite until the eighties.
In 2018, it was officially named "The Shining Light of Karakum".
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wants to put out the fire for environmental and health reasons, as well as for his efforts to increase his country's gas exports.
"We are wasting important natural resources, for which we can get money to improve people's lives," the president said in a television statement. He instructed officials to "find a solution to put out the fire."
There were previous attempts to put out the fire, including one in 2010, when the president also asked the experts to find a solution to put it out, so will the experts succeed in putting it out this time!
Arabia Weather App
Download the app to receive weather notifications and more..