With the redefinition, the kelvin will no longer be defined in terms of an arbitrarily-chosen reference temperature. Instead, we will define temperatures in terms of the energy of molecular motion. We will do this by taking the value of the Boltzmann constant k to be 1.380 649 × 10−23 exactly when expressed in units of joules per kelvin (J K−1). One joule per kelvin is equal to one kg m2s−2 K−1, where the kilogram, metre and second are defined in terms of h, c and ∆ν. So after this redefinition, we will be effectively measuring the temperature in terms of the energy of molecular motion. The degree Celsius will be related to kelvin in the same way as it was before May 2019.

For almost all users, the redefinition will pass unnoticed; water will still freeze at 0 °C, and thermometers calibrated before the change will continue to indicate the correct temperature. However, the redefinition opens up the possibility of using new technologies to measure temperature, something that is likely to be of benefit first at extremely high or low temperatures.