World Radio Day 2025: Date, history, significance, theme, facts and more

World Radio Day 2025 is celebrated every year on February 13. Radio continues to play a vital role in connecting people and has become one of the timeless mediums of communication

Today, February 13th, the world is celebrating World Radio Day. Radio is one of the most powerful and timeless mediums of communication, and it has played a significant role in connecting people.

 

Radio has been used to disseminate information, provide entertainment, and keep people informed about current events. It is also a vital tool for education and awareness and for bringing communities together, especially in remote areas where other forms of communication may not be easily accessible.

World Radio Day 2025: History

Radio was invented in the early 19th century and uses sound waves and signals to deliver messages across a designated bandwidth. In India, the radio first came in the early 20th century; it took years to be widely used for mass media. 

 

World Radio Day was declared around the world to sustain its popularity and encourage everyone to utilise it. 

 

In 2011, UNESCO Member States declared World Radio Day to be celebrated on February 13 and the United Nations General Assembly accepted it in 2012.   READ: National Women's Day 2025

 

Since then, February 13 has been celebrated as World Radio Day. This day highlights the medium's resilience in linking communities, fostering free expression, and serving as a lifeline during disasters and calamities.

World Radio Day 2025: Significance

The aim of World Radio Day is to make people aware of the importance of radio. Even though nowadays, the world is dominated by television and smartphones, radio is still one of the most reputable communication mediums, a travel companion and a platform for community voices through community radio. 

 

Furthermore, radio is still a credible source of information that plays a very significant role during emergencies. It plays a critical role in tackling global issues like climate change and serves as a platform for underrepresented perspectives.

World Radio Day 2025: Theme

The theme for World Radio Day 2025 is "Radio and Climate Change." This day assists radio stations in their journalistic coverage of this critical problem.

World Radio Day 2025: Interesting facts about Radio

• Guglielmo Marconi carried out the first true radio transmission in 1895.
• Radio broadcasts in India began around the early 1920s.
• The Radio Club of Bombay conducted the first radio broadcast in India in June 1923.
• All India Radio (AIR) broadcasted the first news bulletin on January 19, 1936.
• The first radio station in India was Akashvani, which was later known as All India Radio’s on-air name in 1957.
• There are over 415 radio stations in about 23 languages and 146 dialects. 
• AIR is one of the largest radio broadcasters in the world covering 99 per cent population and 18 FM channels.
• In the 1860s, Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of radio waves.