Sunniest places to go from Birmingham in January
The sunniest place you can reach from Birmingham in January within 15 hours is Safaga at 10.0 h, costing 965 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Preston at 12.2 kg — 79× less carbon for 6.2 h less.
Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else in Europe is both sunnier in January and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.
By rail or ferry By air
What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Marseille can only be reached by air — 291 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 42.6 kg in 17h 54m — 7× less carbon for 12h 54m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston, United Kingdom | Rail | 12.2 kg | 4.9 °C | 3.8 h | 5.0 mm | 4h 6m |
| Salisbury, United Kingdom | Rail | 12.6 kg | 4.8 °C | 4.8 h | 2.6 mm | 4h 12m |
| Vannes, France | Rail | 26.9 kg | 6.8 °C | 5.3 h | 3.8 mm | 10h 36m |
| Sion, Switzerland | Air | 243 kg | 3.3 °C | 5.9 h | 3.2 mm | 4h 48m |
| Alès, France | Air | 259 kg | 5.5 °C | 6.5 h | 1.0 mm | 4h 54m |
| Aix-en-Provence, France | Air | 285 kg | 5.6 °C | 7.1 h | 0.7 mm | 5h |
| Marseille, France | Air | 291 kg | 8.5 °C | 7.4 h | 0.9 mm | 5h |
| Castellon, Spain | Air | 351 kg | 10.7 °C | 7.9 h | 0.4 mm | 5h 24m |
| Torrevieja, Spain | Air | 406 kg | 12.5 °C | 8.6 h | 0.4 mm | 5h 42m |
| Ifrane, Morocco | Air | 534 kg | 5.7 °C | 9.0 h | 1.2 mm | 6h 18m |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Air | 577 kg | 10.2 °C | 9.5 h | 0.1 mm | 6h 36m |
| Safaga, Egypt | Air | 965 kg | 18.9 °C | 10.0 h | 0.0 mm | 9h |
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 Errachidia (577 kg, 9.5 h) to Safaga (965 kg, 10.0 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 388 kg — 776 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.
The pick of them
If you'd rather have heat than sunshine
January answers differently depending on what you're after. The warmest destinations from Birmingham in January are a different list — hours of sunshine and degrees of warmth come apart, especially early and late in the year.
Where to stay in Safaga
Places to stay in Safaga, Egypt, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.
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 Birmingham
January from elsewhere
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Brussels
- Cardiff
- Copenhagen
- Dublin
- Edinburgh
- Frankfurt
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Liverpool
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Milan
- Munich
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Birmingham in January?
Safaga, Egypt, at 10.0 h. Reaching it emits 965 kg CO₂e return, travelling 9h each way by air.
Can I get somewhere sunny from Birmingham in January without flying?
Yes. Vannes reaches 5.3 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 10h 36m, emitting 26.9 kg CO₂e return — though Safaga is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Birmingham to Safaga produce?
965 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.