diff --git a/conda-requirements.txt b/conda-requirements.txt
index 3324c5fbc4..0c634d818c 100644
--- a/conda-requirements.txt
+++ b/conda-requirements.txt
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # Mandatory dependencies
 biggus
 cartopy
-matplotlib
+matplotlib<1.9
 netcdf4
 numpy
 pyke
diff --git a/minimal-conda-requirements.txt b/minimal-conda-requirements.txt
index 5299e438e9..5a2b385ff4 100644
--- a/minimal-conda-requirements.txt
+++ b/minimal-conda-requirements.txt
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # Mandatory dependencies
 biggus
 cartopy
-matplotlib
+matplotlib<1.9
 netcdf4
 numpy
 pyke