Today is World Refrigeration Day, So Why Is it So Special?
The celebration is held annually on 26 June to create awareness about the importance of refrigeration technologies.
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There seems to be a celebration for everything nowadays and as silly as some of them sound (*cough* International Talk Like A Pirate Day *cough*) – there is a deeper significance behind them.
Today (26 June) for example is World Refrigeration Day (WRD).
Before shrugging me off and giving the cold shoulder, here’s why WRD is so important – especially in a time of the pandemic.
Refrigeration is the heart of modern life
Sounds like the perfect tagline for a range of LG fridges.
Jokes aside, there are 15 million people employed worldwide in the refrigeration sector and the total number of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump systems in operation worldwide is around 5 billion.
Those systems provide the conditions we require for health, comfort, worker productivity, manufacturing, and essential environments for food, pharmaceuticals, and digital data.
First and foremost, what is it?
World Refrigeration Day is an international awareness campaign that was established in 2019 by the World Refrigeration Day Secretariat in England.
The idea came from Stephen Gill, a refrigeration consultant and former president of the Institute of Refrigeration in the UK, to raise the profile of the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump sector.
It is backed by the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) OzonAction and focuses attention on the engineering and science that is all around us every day.
How does WRD affect me?
It’s not so much the actual day but what the day is advocating – that is a world dependent upon temperature-controlled environments like:
- The air-conditioned room you’re enjoying right now, or the air-con in your car that keeps you sane driving in Malaysia’s weather.
- Food stored and delivered in hygienically safe conditions.
- Chilled vaccines stored and delivered safely to billions in needs – especially now during a pandemic.
READ MORE: Only RM70 Electricity Bill With 6 Airconds At Home? Melaka Man Shares How He Does It
Refrigeration and Covid-19 vaccines
Vaccines seem to be the only hope for us to beat the pandemic. That said, storage facilities need to ensure vaccines are maintained in constant and reliable conditions and at temperatures as low as minus 70 to plus 8 degree Celsius to maintain their potency.
Vaccines must be stored in specific conditions to avoid degradation and conditions must be adhered to across the stages of manufacture, distribution, storage, and ultimately administration.
The process is known as the cold chain and also happened to be the theme for WRD in 2020. #ColdChain4Life celebrated the importance of the refrigerated cold chain in sustaining life.
This year, WRD will focus on careers in the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump industry and is themed “Cooling Champions: Cool Careers for a Better World.”
The goal of this year’s campaign is to inspire students and young professional in all countries by encouraging them to meet the challenges faced in their communities by pursuing careers in this sector.
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