This video shows the hellish landscape atop the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma after a team of scientists ascended to the main cone for the first time since the eruption started.

The team made its way up to the edge of the main cone of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the north-westernmost Canary island for the first time since the eruption began on 19th September.

The team journeyed up the smouldering volcano on Wednesday (15th December) to collect data on gas emissions.

It is the first time anyone has been to the edge of the Spanish volcano’s main cone, which stands at a height of 188 metres (617 ft), since the beginning of the eruption, which is ongoing.

The volcano was smouldering when the team arrived at the cone’s edge. However, as late as this Monday, it was spewing out ash and lava.

The scientists took the opportunity to film around, as seen in this footage showing a hellish, desolate landscape, with the raging wind clearly audible in the background.

As of yesterday (16th December), no lava, ash or pyroclasts had been spewed out by the volcano since Monday, and there has been a drastic decrease in sulphur dioxide emissions.

The Volcanology Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN) has said these are signs the eruption is finally coming to an end.

The official end to the eruption, which has killed one and reached 3 (‘catastrophic’) on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, is expected in around nine days’ time.