Turkmenistan's Leader Wants 'Gates of Hell' Fire Put Out
2022-01-14
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1The president of Turkmenistan is calling for an end to one of the country's most notable sights:
2the burning crater widely known as the "Gates of Hell."
3The desert crater is found about 260 kilometers north of the capital, Ashgabat.
4It sits near the village of Darvaza and its official name is Darvaza gas crater.
5The fire has burned in the Central Asian nation since the early 1970s.
6It is a popular place to visit for the small number of travelers who come to Turkmenistan.
7The country is difficult to enter and highly controlled.
8The Turkmen news site Turkmenportal said that a 1971 search for gas caused the ground to collapse, which formed the crater.
9At the time, Turkmenistan was under control of the former Soviet Union.
10The crater is about 60 meters across and 20 meters deep.
11Earth scientists set a fire to prevent the spread of gas.
12They expected the gas to burn off in a few weeks.
13But the fire is still burning 50 years later.
14In 2019, state television showed President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov speeding around it in an off-road vehicle.
15But earlier this month, the state newspaper Neitralny Turkemistan reported that Berdymukhammedov has ordered his government to look for ways to put out the fire.
16It is causing ecological damage and affecting the health of people living in the area.
17Turkmenistan has the world's fifth-largest natural gas reserves.
18But life for most of the country's 6 million people remains difficult.
19Berdymukhammedov has ruled his country by demanding obedience.
20He has isolated Turkmenistan during an economic crisis that has made many of its citizens poor, and shortages of simple goods and food are common.
21A 2021 Bloomberg report said that Turkmenistan's state-controlled energy industry is one of the world's worst creators of the greenhouse gas methane.
22Methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a planet-warming greenhouse gas.
23This means that controlling leaks in gas production is important in fighting climate change.
24In 2021, the International Energy Agency estimated Turkmenistan's total methane creation was behind only Russia, the United States, Iran and Iraq.
25These countries are all major oil and gas producers.
26However, Turkmenistan had the second-highest methane creation intensity in the world.
27This number means how much methane is leaked into the environment in relation to natural gas that is produced.
28Turkmenistan's leak rate was more than five times larger than the world's top natural gas producer, the United States.
29I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The president of Turkmenistan is calling for an end to one of the country's most notable sights: the burning crater widely known as the "Gates of Hell." 2The desert crater is found about 260 kilometers north of the capital, Ashgabat. It sits near the village of Darvaza and its official name is Darvaza gas crater. 3The fire has burned in the Central Asian nation since the early 1970s. It is a popular place to visit for the small number of travelers who come to Turkmenistan. The country is difficult to enter and highly controlled. 4The Turkmen news site Turkmenportal said that a 1971 search for gas caused the ground to collapse, which formed the crater. At the time, Turkmenistan was under control of the former Soviet Union. 5The crater is about 60 meters across and 20 meters deep. Earth scientists set a fire to prevent the spread of gas. They expected the gas to burn off in a few weeks. 6But the fire is still burning 50 years later. 7In 2019, state television showed President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov speeding around it in an off-road vehicle. 8But earlier this month, the state newspaper Neitralny Turkemistan reported that Berdymukhammedov has ordered his government to look for ways to put out the fire. It is causing ecological damage and affecting the health of people living in the area. 9Natural gas producer 10Turkmenistan has the world's fifth-largest natural gas reserves. But life for most of the country's 6 million people remains difficult. Berdymukhammedov has ruled his country by demanding obedience. He has isolated Turkmenistan during an economic crisis that has made many of its citizens poor, and shortages of simple goods and food are common. 11A 2021 Bloomberg report said that Turkmenistan's state-controlled energy industry is one of the world's worst creators of the greenhouse gas methane. 12Methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a planet-warming greenhouse gas. This means that controlling leaks in gas production is important in fighting climate change. 13In 2021, the International Energy Agency estimated Turkmenistan's total methane creation was behind only Russia, the United States, Iran and Iraq. These countries are all major oil and gas producers. 14However, Turkmenistan had the second-highest methane creation intensity in the world. This number means how much methane is leaked into the environment in relation to natural gas that is produced. Turkmenistan's leak rate was more than five times larger than the world's top natural gas producer, the United States. 15I'm Gregory Stachel. 16The Associated Press reported this story. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional materials from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 17_____________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19crater - n. a large round hole in the ground made by the explosion of a bomb or by something falling from the sky 20reserve - n. a supply of something that is stored so that it can be used at a later time 21isolated - adj. separate from others 22greenhouse gas - phr. n. air pollution that is related to or cause the warming of the Earth's atmosphere 23carbon dioxide - n. a gas that is produced when people and animals breathe out or when certain fuels are burned and that is used by plants for energy