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Rome · August · relief from the heat

Coolest places to go from Rome in August

In August, the coolest well-known place within 15 hours of Rome is Reykjavik, Iceland, 16.4 °C cooler than Rome and 8.6 h sun a day, about 7h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 9.3 °C cooler than Rome, about 9h 12m each way by train, for about 38× less carbon (21.6 kg CO₂e return against 830 kg).

The 10 coolest places within 15 hours of Rome

Ranked on relief from the heat in August 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.

  1. Reykjavik, Iceland16.4 °C cooler · 8.6 h sun a day · 3.8 mm rain a day · sea 12.0 °Cair ≈ 7h 54m · 830 kg CO₂e return
  2. Bergen, Norway13.4 °C cooler · 6.6 h sun a day · 11.7 mm rain a day · sea 15.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 532 kg CO₂e return
  3. Östersund, Sweden13.3 °C cooler · 10.0 h sun a day · 5.1 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 42m · 596 kg CO₂e return
  4. Sligo, Ireland12.8 °C cooler · 8.7 h sun a day · 6.6 mm rain a day · sea 16.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 519 kg CO₂e return
  5. Douglas, Isle of Man12.6 °C cooler · 10.1 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a day · sea 15.5 °Cair ≈ 6h · 465 kg CO₂e return
  6. Haugesund, Norway12.6 °C cooler · 8.7 h sun a day · 8.6 mm rain a day · sea 15.9 °Cair ≈ 6h 12m · 506 kg CO₂e return
  7. Oldham, United Kingdom12.5 °C cooler · 9.2 h sun a day · 3.6 mm rain a dayair ≈ 5h 48m · 425 kg CO₂e return
  8. Glasgow, United Kingdom12.5 °C cooler · 9.5 h sun a day · 5.1 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 6m · 495 kg CO₂e return
  9. Ålesund, Norway12.5 °C cooler · 7.5 h sun a day · 6.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.1 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 585 kg CO₂e return
  10. Belfast, United Kingdom12.3 °C cooler · 10.0 h sun a day · 4.1 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 6m · 491 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The coolest places the train reaches within 15 hours. La Chaux-de-Fonds is 9.3 °C cooler for 21.6 kg — about 38× less carbon than flying to Reykjavik.

  1. La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland9.3 °C cooler · 10.9 h sun a day · 2.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 9h 12m · 21.6 kg CO₂e return
  2. Siegen, Germany9.2 °C cooler · 10.5 h sun a day · 3.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 18m · 31.2 kg CO₂e return
  3. Wuppertal, Germany8.8 °C cooler · 10.7 h sun a day · 3.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 33.0 kg CO₂e return
  4. Charleroi, Belgium8.6 °C cooler · 10.3 h sun a day · 2.1 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 33.4 kg CO₂e return
  5. Luxembourg, Luxembourg8.6 °C cooler · 10.8 h sun a day · 3.0 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 54m · 29.2 kg CO₂e return
  6. Rouen, France8.6 °C cooler · 10.5 h sun a day · 2.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 15h · 36.0 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 Rome in August within 15 hours is Reykjavik, 16.4 °C cooler, costing 830 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Province of Macerata at 5.1 kg — 163× less carbon, for 14.3 degrees less relief from the heat.

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

Province of MacerataReykjavik
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Rome. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against relief from the heat, August, departing Rome. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.10 destinations. Lowest carbon Province of Macerata at 5.1 kilograms and 2.1 °C cooler; best for relief from the heat Reykjavik at 830 kilograms and 16.4 °C cooler. Province of Macerata · 5.1 kgAnnaberg-Buchholz · 28.5 kgBirmingham · 402 kgReykjavik · 830 kg

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Buxton can only be reached by air — 417 kg CO₂e, in 5h 42m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 60.8 kg in 21h — 7× less carbon for 15h 18m more travelling.

August from Rome — 10 destinations on the frontier, 7 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Province of Macerata, ItalyRail5.1 kg25.0 °C12.4 h1.2 mm4h
Campobasso, ItalyRail5.4 kg23.1 °C12.7 h0.8 mm4h 12m
Ljubljana, SloveniaRail14.4 kg21.9 °C11.8 h3.5 mm9h
Chur, SwitzerlandRail17.7 kg20.9 °C10.8 h5.7 mm7h 42m
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GermanyRail18.7 kg19.2 °C9.8 h7.7 mm9h 24m
Sonthofen, GermanyRail19.2 kg18.3 °C9.9 h6.2 mm9h
Annaberg-Buchholz, GermanyRail28.5 kg17.5 °C10.4 h3.6 mm14h 36m
Birmingham, United KingdomAir402 kg16.0 °C9.3 h1.5 mm5h 36m
Buxton, United KingdomAir417 kg13.9 °C9.6 h2.4 mm5h 42m
Reykjavik, IcelandAir830 kg10.7 °C8.6 h3.8 mm7h 54m

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 Annaberg-Buchholz (28.5 kg, 9.6 °C cooler) to Birmingham (402 kg, 11.1 °C cooler) buys 1.5 °C more relief from the heat for an extra 374 kg — 249 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive relief from the heat on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Province of MacerataItaly5.1 kg CO₂e return25.0 °C · 12.4 h sun · 4h by railwarm overallAnnaberg-BuchholzGermany28.5 kg CO₂e return17.5 °C · 10.4 h sun · 14h 36m by railwarm but wetReykjavik, IcelandReykjavikIceland830 kg CO₂e return10.7 °C · 8.6 h sun · 7h 54m by airmild and bright

The same month, asked differently

August 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 Reykjavik

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

Search places to stay in Reykjavik →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 Rome

August from elsewhere

Photo credits

Questions

Where is the coolest place to go from Rome in August?

Reykjavik, Iceland, at 16.4 °C cooler. Reaching it emits 830 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 54m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere cool from Rome in August without flying?

Yes. Annaberg-Buchholz reaches 9.6 °C cooler and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 36m (modelled), emitting 28.5 kg CO₂e return — though Reykjavik is cooler still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Rome to Reykjavik produce?

830 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.