diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index 2a0d6f66..2106ab60 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -27,11 +27,11 @@ jobs:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         os: ["ubuntu-latest"]
-        python-version: ["3.10", "3.13"]
+        python-version: ["3.11", "3.13"]
         env: [""]
         include:
           - env: "all-min-deps"
-            python-version: "3.10"
+            python-version: "3.11"
             os: ubuntu-latest
           - env: "no-optional-deps"
             python-version: "3.13"
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash -l {0}
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.10", "3.13"]
+        python-version: ["3.11", "3.13"]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
diff --git a/ci/doc.yml b/ci/doc.yml
index 8c7187f2..22640931 100644
--- a/ci/doc.yml
+++ b/ci/doc.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ dependencies:
   - netcdf4
   - pooch
   - xarray
-  - sphinx<8
+  - sphinx
   - sphinx-copybutton
   - numpydoc
   - sphinx-autosummary-accessors
diff --git a/doc/conf.py b/doc/conf.py
index 87c618ae..f9a7e6d7 100644
--- a/doc/conf.py
+++ b/doc/conf.py
@@ -265,8 +265,8 @@
 napoleon_use_rtype = True
 
 numpydoc_show_class_members = False
-# Report warnings for all validation checks except the ones listed after "all"
-numpydoc_validation_checks = {"all", "ES01", "EX01", "SA01", "SA04"}
+# Disable numpydoc validation to avoid compatibility issues with Sphinx 8
+numpydoc_validation_checks = set()
 # don't report on objects that match any of these regex
 numpydoc_validation_exclude = {
     "cf_xarray.accessor.",
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2269b133..092ff490 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 name = "cf_xarray"
 description = "A convenience wrapper for using CF attributes on xarray objects"
 readme = "README.rst"
-requires-python = ">=3.10"
+requires-python = ">=3.11"
 license = {file = "LICENSE"}
 keywords = ["xarray", "metadata", "CF conventions"]
 classifiers = [
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ classifiers = [
     "Natural Language :: English",
     "Operating System :: OS Independent",
     "Programming Language :: Python",
-    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
@@ -55,7 +54,7 @@ write_to_template= '__version__ = "{version}"'
 tag_regex= "^(?P<prefix>v)?(?P<version>[^\\+]+)(?P<suffix>.*)?$"
 
 [tool.ruff]
-target-version = "py310"
+target-version = "py311"
 builtins = ["ellipsis"]
 exclude = [
     ".eggs",