diff --git a/docs/quickstart.rst b/docs/quickstart.rst
index 69ceb9d4d..3c61d25af 100644
--- a/docs/quickstart.rst
+++ b/docs/quickstart.rst
@@ -609,6 +609,8 @@ behavior of the library.
     Note: because the HTTP_PROXY variable may contain arbitrary user input on some (CGI) environments, the variable is only used on the CLI SAPI. See https://httpoxy.org for more information.
 ``HTTPS_PROXY``
     Defines the proxy to use when sending requests using the "https" protocol.
+``NO_PROXY``
+    Defines URLs for which a proxy should not be used. See :ref:`proxy-option` for usage.
 
 
 Relevant ini Settings
diff --git a/src/Handler/CurlMultiHandler.php b/src/Handler/CurlMultiHandler.php
index 2754d8e43..7097835d1 100644
--- a/src/Handler/CurlMultiHandler.php
+++ b/src/Handler/CurlMultiHandler.php
@@ -37,8 +37,14 @@ public function __construct(array $options = [])
     {
         $this->factory = isset($options['handle_factory'])
             ? $options['handle_factory'] : new CurlFactory(50);
-        $this->selectTimeout = isset($options['select_timeout'])
-            ? $options['select_timeout'] : 1;
+
+        if (isset($options['select_timeout'])) {
+            $this->selectTimeout = $options['select_timeout'];
+        } elseif ($selectTimeout = getenv('GUZZLE_CURL_SELECT_TIMEOUT')) {
+            $this->selectTimeout = $selectTimeout;
+        } else {
+            $this->selectTimeout = 1;
+        }
     }
 
     public function __get($name)
diff --git a/tests/Handler/CurlMultiHandlerTest.php b/tests/Handler/CurlMultiHandlerTest.php
index 61df32679..6c987afb8 100644
--- a/tests/Handler/CurlMultiHandlerTest.php
+++ b/tests/Handler/CurlMultiHandlerTest.php
@@ -74,6 +74,20 @@ public function testDelaysConcurrently()
         $this->assertGreaterThanOrEqual($expected, microtime(true));
     }
 
+    public function testUsesTimeoutEnvironmentVariables()
+    {
+        $a = new CurlMultiHandler();
+
+        //default if no options are given and no environment variable is set
+        $this->assertEquals(1, $this->readAttribute($a, 'selectTimeout'));
+
+        putenv("GUZZLE_CURL_SELECT_TIMEOUT=3");
+        $a = new CurlMultiHandler();
+        $selectTimeout = getenv('GUZZLE_CURL_SELECT_TIMEOUT');
+        //Handler reads from the environment if no options are given
+        $this->assertEquals($selectTimeout, $this->readAttribute($a, 'selectTimeout'));
+    }
+
     /**
      * @expectedException \BadMethodCallException
      */