diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg_core.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg_core.py
index 2155381fbd77..5377f3dc266b 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg_core.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_webagg_core.py
@@ -517,7 +517,7 @@ def _timer_start(self):
         else:
             self._timer = tornado.ioloop.PeriodicCallback(
                 self._on_timer,
-                self.interval)
+                max(self.interval, 1e-6))
             self._timer.start()
 
     def _timer_stop(self):