Leeds · December · relief from the heat

Coolest places to go from Leeds in December

In December, the coolest well-known place within 15 hours of Leeds is Rovaniemi, Finland, 14.3 °C cooler than Leeds and 0.1 h sun a day, about 6h 12m each way by air. Without flying, it is La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 5.5 °C cooler than Leeds, about 14h 6m each way by train, for about 12× less carbon (42.6 kg CO₂e return against 512 kg).

The 10 coolest places within 15 hours of Leeds

Ranked on relief from the heat in December alone, among well-known places (a Wikivoyage travel guide and at least 40,000 Wikipedia readers a year), one per area and at most three per country. The carbon is shown, not used to choose: the list further down is the other question, how much relief from the heat each extra kilogram buys.

Rovaniemi, Finland14.3 °C cooler · 0.1 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 12m · 512 kg CO₂e return
Tromsø, Norway12.5 °C cooler · 0.0 h sun a day · 3.8 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 12m · 514 kg CO₂e return
Joensuu, Finland12.4 °C cooler · 0.9 h sun a day · 1.7 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 12m · 516 kg CO₂e return
Östersund, Sweden12.3 °C cooler · 0.9 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a dayair ≈ 5h 24m · 351 kg CO₂e return
Oulu, Finland12.2 °C cooler · 0.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 0.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 490 kg CO₂e return
Luleå, Sweden11.9 °C cooler · 0.3 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 0.8 °Cair ≈ 6h · 464 kg CO₂e return
Umeå, Sweden11.6 °C cooler · 0.9 h sun a day · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 2.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 42m · 419 kg CO₂e return
Bodø, Norway10.6 °C cooler · 0.0 h sun a day · 7.8 mm rain a day · sea 6.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 433 kg CO₂e return
Oslo, Norway9.3 °C cooler · 1.8 h sun a day · 1.7 mm rain a dayair ≈ 4h 48m · 254 kg CO₂e return
Erzurum, Turkey9.3 °C cooler · 6.9 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 12m · 889 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The coolest places the train reaches within 15 hours. La Chaux-de-Fonds is 5.5 °C cooler for 42.6 kg — about 12× less carbon than flying to Rovaniemi.

La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland5.5 °C cooler · 4.0 h sun a day · 5.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 6m · 42.6 kg CO₂e return
Suhl, Germany5.1 °C cooler · 1.8 h sun a day · 3.7 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 42m · 44.4 kg CO₂e return
Bern, Switzerland4.7 °C cooler · 4.8 h sun a day · 4.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 6m · 43.9 kg CO₂e return
Memmingen, Germany4.7 °C cooler · 4.2 h sun a day · 3.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 46.6 kg CO₂e return
Ulm, Germany4.6 °C cooler · 3.9 h sun a day · 2.7 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 18m · 45.5 kg CO₂e return
Zurich, Switzerland4.1 °C cooler · 4.1 h sun a day · 4.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 30m · 44.8 kg CO₂e return

≈ is the model's estimate (air times include getting to and through the airport); ✓ is a rail journey checked against a real timetable, with the date it was checked. Temperatures are historical daily means for 2023–2024, averaged across day and night, so afternoons run warmer.

The low-carbon trade-off

The coolest place you can reach from Leeds in December within 15 hours is Rovaniemi, 14.3 °C cooler, costing 512 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Charleville-Mézières at 33.5 kg — 15× less carbon, for 12.2 degrees less relief from the heat.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both cooler in December and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.

Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Leeds. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against relief from the heat, December, departing Leeds. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Drammen can only be reached by air — 245 kg CO₂e, in 4h 48m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 54.9 kg in 23h 30m — 4× less carbon for 18h 42m more travelling.

December from Leeds — 10 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Charleville-Mézières, France	Rail	33.5 kg	4.4 °C	2.1 h	3.3 mm	9h 54m
Arlon, Belgium	Rail	35.6 kg	3.6 °C	1.8 h	3.0 mm	10h 42m
Schmallenberg, Germany	Rail	39.1 kg	2.8 °C	1.6 h	4.6 mm	12h 36m
Pontarlier, France	Rail	42.4 kg	2.1 °C	3.8 h	6.1 mm	13h 12m
La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland	Rail	42.6 kg	1.0 °C	4.0 h	5.1 mm	14h 6m
Porsgrunn, Norway	Air	228 kg	-1.8 °C	2.3 h	3.2 mm	4h 42m
Drammen, Norway	Air	245 kg	-3.4 °C	2.1 h	2.8 mm	4h 48m
Lillehammer, Norway	Air	272 kg	-6.0 °C	1.9 h	1.9 mm	4h 54m
Tornio, Finland	Air	488 kg	-7.0 °C	0.1 h	1.4 mm	6h 6m
Rovaniemi, Finland	Air	512 kg	-7.8 °C	0.1 h	1.2 mm	6h 12m

Warm is not the same as pleasant, which is why sunshine and rainfall are shown alongside temperature. All three are ERA5 monthly means for 2023–2024.

Where the curve breaks

The frontier is gentle until it isn't. Going from Lillehammer (272 kg, 12.5 °C cooler) to Tornio (488 kg, 13.5 °C cooler) buys 1.0 °C more relief from the heat for an extra 215 kg — 215 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive relief from the heat on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Charleville-MézièresFrance33.5 kg CO₂e return4.4 °C · 2.1 h sun · 9h 54m by railgrey and wet La Chaux-de-FondsSwitzerland42.6 kg CO₂e return1.0 °C · 4.0 h sun · 14h 6m by railcool RovaniemiFinland512 kg CO₂e return-7.8 °C · 0.1 h sun · 6h 12m by aircool

The same month, asked differently

December answers differently depending on what you are after, and the lists genuinely diverge: the brightest places are not the hottest, and in summer the useful question stops being where is warm at all.

Where to stay in Rovaniemi

Places to stay in Rovaniemi, Finland, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Rovaniemi →Opens the booking search in a new tab. Same partners as the map below.

Affiliate disclosure. A booking made through this map may earn 0xCarbon a commission, at no extra cost to you. It changes nothing above it: the emissions figures come from UK Government conversion factors and are computed before anyone is paid anything.See the method.

Other months from Leeds

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Charleville-Mézières: Scanné par Claude_villetaneuse, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tromsø: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Östersund: Lars Falkdalen Lindahl (User:Njaelkies Lea), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luleå: Andreas Harnemo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Umeå: Jonipoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bodø: Røed 20:41, 24 July 2006 (UTC), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Oslo: Jonipoon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ulm: Candidus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the coolest place to go from Leeds in December?

Rovaniemi, Finland, at 14.3 °C cooler. Reaching it emits 512 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 12m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere cool from Leeds in December without flying?

Yes. La Chaux-de-Fonds reaches 5.5 °C cooler and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 6m (modelled), emitting 42.6 kg CO₂e return — though Rovaniemi is cooler still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Leeds to Rovaniemi produce?

512 kg CO₂e for one person, return, by air. That uses the UK Government's 2026 conversion factors, including radiative forcing for flights.

Carbon uses UK Government (DESNZ/DEFRA) 2026 conversion factors applied to great-circle distance, with radiative forcing included for flights. Rail journey times are modelled estimates, not timetabled services. Full method · download the data.