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Nottingham · January · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Nottingham in January

The sunniest place you can reach from Nottingham in January within 15 hours is Arona at 9.9 h, costing 766 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Harlow at 12.6 kg — 61× less carbon for 5.1 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.

HarlowArona
Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Nottingham. Pick one to compare.
Carbon against sunshine, January, departing Nottingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.10 destinations. Lowest carbon Harlow at 12.6 kilograms and 4.8 h; best for sunshine Arona at 766 kilograms and 9.9 h. Harlow · 12.6 kgErrachidia · 592 kgArona · 766 kg

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, January, departing Nottingham. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Tortosa can only be reached by air — 341 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 49.2 kg in 20h 42m — 7× less carbon for 15h 24m more travelling.

January from Nottingham — 10 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
DestinationHowCO₂e returnTempSun/dayRain/dayJourney
Harlow, United KingdomRail12.6 kg4.6 °C4.8 h1.9 mm4h 6m
Rennes, FranceRail25.7 kg5.9 °C5.1 h2.6 mm9h 48m
Sion, SwitzerlandAir243 kg3.3 °C5.9 h3.2 mm4h 48m
Bellinzona, SwitzerlandAir264 kg5.7 °C6.6 h1.3 mm4h 54m
Marseille, FranceAir296 kg8.5 °C7.4 h0.9 mm5h 6m
Tortosa, SpainAir341 kg10.2 °C7.9 h0.6 mm5h 18m
Torrevieja, SpainAir419 kg12.5 °C8.6 h0.4 mm5h 42m
Almería, SpainAir451 kg13.3 °C8.8 h0.2 mm5h 54m
Errachidia, MoroccoAir592 kg10.2 °C9.5 h0.1 mm6h 36m
Arona, SpainAir766 kg15.2 °C9.9 h0.3 mm7h 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 (592 kg, 9.5 h) to Arona (766 kg, 9.9 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 174 kg — 435 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 Nottingham 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 Nottingham

January from elsewhere

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Nottingham in January?

Arona, Spain, at 9.9 h. Reaching it emits 766 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 36m each way by air.

Can I get somewhere sunny from Nottingham in January without flying?

Yes. Rennes reaches 5.1 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 9h 48m, emitting 25.7 kg CO₂e return — though Arona is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Nottingham to Arona produce?

766 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.