Officials close to declaring the start of the end of La Palma eruption

After three months of eruption, officials monitoring the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma have said that the volcano is showing more signs of exhaustion, with nearly a week passing since the last recorded flow of lava.

Seismic activity has also decreased, with a few dozen minor quakes being recorded – none which were felt by the population.

Over the weekend, teams from the Canarian volcanic monitoring institute – Involcan – were able to access one of the craters to test for gasses being released.

Officials have said that the eruption could be officially declared as over within the next week, should current rates of change continue at the same pace.

556 people remain in hotels due to their homes being in exclusion zones, with nearly 3,000 buildings destroyed.

Photo: Involcan