Sunniest places to go from Leeds in January
The sunniest place you can reach from Leeds in January within 15 hours is Arona at 9.9 h, costing 783 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Carlisle at 12.2 kg — 64× less carbon for 6.3 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 Tortosa can only be reached by air — 365 kg CO₂e, in 5h 24m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 57.0 kg in 22h — 6× less carbon for 16h 36m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle, United Kingdom | Rail | 12.2 kg | 4.4 °C | 3.6 h | 4.4 mm | 4h 6m |
| Coventry, United Kingdom | Rail | 12.4 kg | 4.5 °C | 4.6 h | 1.9 mm | 4h 6m |
| Rennes, France | Rail | 33.5 kg | 5.9 °C | 5.1 h | 2.6 mm | 11h 6m |
| Sion, Switzerland | Air | 265 kg | 3.3 °C | 5.9 h | 3.2 mm | 4h 54m |
| Bellinzona, Switzerland | Air | 285 kg | 5.7 °C | 6.6 h | 1.3 mm | 5h |
| Marseille, France | Air | 320 kg | 8.5 °C | 7.4 h | 0.9 mm | 5h 12m |
| Tortosa, Spain | Air | 365 kg | 10.2 °C | 7.9 h | 0.6 mm | 5h 24m |
| Torrevieja, Spain | Air | 443 kg | 12.5 °C | 8.6 h | 0.4 mm | 5h 48m |
| Almería, Spain | Air | 475 kg | 13.3 °C | 8.8 h | 0.2 mm | 6h |
| Errachidia, Morocco | Air | 614 kg | 10.2 °C | 9.5 h | 0.1 mm | 6h 48m |
| Arona, Spain | Air | 783 kg | 15.2 °C | 9.9 h | 0.3 mm | 7h 36m |
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 (614 kg, 9.5 h) to Arona (783 kg, 9.9 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 169 kg — 421 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 Leeds 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 Arona
Places to stay in Arona, Spain, 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 Leeds
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 Leeds in January?
Arona, Spain, at 9.9 h. Reaching it emits 783 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air.
Can I get somewhere sunny from Leeds in January without flying?
Yes. Rennes reaches 5.1 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 11h 6m, emitting 33.5 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Leeds to Arona produce?
783 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.