diff --git a/azure-pipelines.yml b/azure-pipelines.yml
index c7f9de73cf4..90de0705a27 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines.yml
+++ b/azure-pipelines.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ jobs:
         conda_env: py36
       py37:
         conda_env: py37
+      py38:
+        conda_env: py38
       py37-upstream-dev:
         conda_env: py37
         upstream_dev: true
diff --git a/ci/requirements/py38.yml b/ci/requirements/py38.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9698e3efecf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/requirements/py38.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+name: xarray-tests
+channels:
+  - conda-forge
+dependencies:
+  - python=3.8
+  - pip
+  - pip:
+      - coveralls
+      - dask
+      - distributed
+      - numpy
+      - pandas
+      - pytest
+      - pytest-cov
+      - pytest-env
diff --git a/doc/whats-new.rst b/doc/whats-new.rst
index 47e2e58e988..c117382f23f 100644
--- a/doc/whats-new.rst
+++ b/doc/whats-new.rst
@@ -78,7 +78,8 @@ Bug fixes
 
 Documentation
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Fix leap year condition in example (http://xarray.pydata.org/en/stable/examples/monthly-means.html) by `Mickaël Lalande <https://github.com/mickaellalande>`_.
+- Fix leap year condition in example (http://xarray.pydata.org/en/stable/examples/monthly-means.html)
+  by `Mickaël Lalande <https://github.com/mickaellalande>`_.
 - Fix the documentation of :py:meth:`DataArray.resample` and
   :py:meth:`Dataset.resample` and explicitly state that a
   datetime-like dimension is required. (:pull:`3400`)
@@ -104,7 +105,10 @@ Internal Changes
     ``pip install git+https://github.com/andrewgsavage/pint.git@refs/pull/6/head)``.
     Even with it, interaction with non-numpy array libraries, e.g. dask or sparse, is broken.
 
-- Use Python 3.6 idioms throughout the codebase. (:pull:3419)
+- Use Python 3.6 idioms throughout the codebase. (:pull:`3419`)
+  By `Maximilian Roos <https://github.com/max-sixty>`_
+
+- Run basic CI tests on Python 3.8. (:pull:`3477`)
   By `Maximilian Roos <https://github.com/max-sixty>`_