Iceland volcano: Watch the Fagradalsfjall eruption live

Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano, located on the Reykjanes peninsula in the south-west of the country, has erupted after weeks of earthquake activity.

The eruption started on 18 December at 22:17 local time, after a sequence of small earthquakes in the hour before. Enormous plumes of smoke and spews of lava have since been flowing from a nearly 4 kilometre (2.5 miles) long volcanic fissure.

Residents in the region have been bracing themselves for the eruption for the past couple of months, with heightened seismic activity since late October. In November, the 4000 residents of Grindavík – a town 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the volcano – were evacuated after experiencing a swarm of more than 1000 earthquakes.

The eruption is ongoing, though the latest update from the Icelandic met office states that the size of the volcanic eruption has decreased since yesterday evening. “The lava flow is estimated to be about one-quarter of what it was at the beginning of the eruption on 18 December,” according to their observations.