In 1954, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) established the definition of the Kelvin as 1/273.16 of the absolute temperature of the triple point of water. Waters with different isotopic compositions had slightly different triple points. Thus, the International Committee for Weights and Measures specified in 2005 that the definition of the kelvin temperature scale would refer to water with a composition of the nominal specification of VSMOW. The decision was welcomed in 2007 by Resolution 10 of the 23rd CGPM. The triple point is measured in triple-point cells, where the water is held at its triple point and allowed to reach equilibrium with its surroundings. Using ordinary waters, the range of inter-laboratory measurements of the triple point can be about . With VSMOW, the inter-laboratory range of measurements of the triple point is about .
After the 2019 redefinition of the SI base units, the kelvin is defined in terms of the Boltzmann constant, which makes its definition completely independent of the properties of water. The defined value for the Boltzmann constant was selected so that the measured value of the VSMOW triple point is identical to the prior defined value, within measurable accuracy. Triple-point cells remain a practical method of calibrating thermometers.