Dousing Darvaza for climate goals

METHANE RISK: NOW JUST A CHARRED CAULDRON LEFT

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People go to the Gateway to Hell gas crater in the middle of the Turkmenistan desert expecting an angry cauldron, but are now coming away unimpressed.

Once a giant uncontrollable pit of red flames and glowing red embers, the 70m-wide hole is now just a charred cauldron with only a few pockets of small fires.

After letting it burn for 50 years, authorities in the reclusive Central Asian state have finally moved to put out the fire, which spews huge quantities of methane into the atmosphere.

"I'm a little disappointed," said Irina, 35, who travelled five hours from the capital Ashgabat to get to see what she thought would be an inferno in the Karakum desert.

"On the internet we saw impressive pictures of burning flames.

"Now we realise they were old photos and videos. The reality is different," she said.

Reducing the fire is an important step for Turkmenistan's climate ambitions.