diff --git a/libvips/iofuncs/image.c b/libvips/iofuncs/image.c
index bb1fe0ca..e2828363 100644
--- a/libvips/iofuncs/image.c
+++ b/libvips/iofuncs/image.c
@@ -1666,7 +1666,13 @@ vips_image_temp_name( char *name, int size )
 {
 	static int global_serial = 0;
 
-	int serial = g_atomic_int_add( &global_serial, 1);
+	int serial =
+#if GLIB_CHECK_VERSION( 2, 30, 0 )
+		g_atomic_int_add( &global_serial, 1);
+#else
+		g_atomic_exchange_and_add( &global_serial, 1);
+#endif
+
 	vips_snprintf( name, size, "temp-%d", serial );
 }