The 18th of May marks the beginning of the end for the 2010 eruption. On this day, the eruption activity started to decrease rapidly and after the 22nd of May there was hardly any activity left apart from steam production and activity related to it.

Between the 18th and the 20th of May the height of the eruption plume decreased considerably going from 7 km in height down to 5 km, and the amount of magma coming from the crater decreased from about 200 tons per second down to less than 50 tons. There was still explosive activity within the crater, with limited amount of lava flowing from it. After the 20th of May the activity continued to decrease, and the explosive activity and the lava flow ceased. The eruption plume (composed of fine ash and steam) continued to decrease in altitude but from around the 22nd of May the eruption plume was mostly steam. Earthquake activity continued but only with shallow and minor earthquakes like those prior to the eruption.