SI base unit
Although these defining correlations are commonly taught in schools today, by international agreement, between 1954 and 2019 the unit "degree Celsius" and the Celsius scale were defined by absolute zero and the triple point of VSMOW (specially prepared water). This definition also precisely related the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale, which defines the SI base unit of thermodynamic temperature with symbol K. Absolute zero, the lowest temperature possible, is defined as being exactly 0 K and −273.15 °C. Until 19 May 2019, the temperature of the triple point of water was defined as exactly 273.16 K (0.01 °C). This means that a temperature difference of one degree Celsius and that of one kelvin are exactly the same.