In which month is the Earth closest to the Sun?

Earth's perihelion occurs around January 3, and the aphelion around July 4. The distance change is about 3.5%, which gives 6.9% increase in solar energy reaching the Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion. Since the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the perihelion, the southern hemisphere receives more energy from the Sun than does the northern over the course of a year.