  Low-redshift probes, such as Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) and
Supernovae Ia luminosity distances, have been shown to be crucial for improving
the bounds on the total neutrino mass from cosmological observations, due to
their ability to break degeneracies among the different parameters. Here, we
expand background observations to include $H(z)$ measurements from cosmic
chronometers, distance moduli from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs), and angular
diameter distances from galaxy clusters. For the very first time, we find
neutrino mass limits below the minimal expectations from neutrino oscillation
probes, suggesting non-standard neutrino and/or cosmological scenarios. The
tightening of the neutrino mass bound is due to the slightly higher value of
the Hubble constant $H_0$ preferred by the former three background probes, and
also due to the improved errors on $H_0$ and the matter mass-energy density
$\Omega_{\rm m}$. All values of $H_0$ are however in agreement at the
$1-2\sigma$ level. Interestingly, it is not only the combination of the three
background probes that is responsible for the $\sum m_\nu <0.06$~eV limits, but
also each of them independently. The tightest bound we find here is $\sum
m_\nu<0.043$~eV at $2\sigma$ after combining Cosmic Microwave Background Planck
data with DESI BAO, Supernovae Ia, GRBs, cosmic chronometers, and galaxy
clusters, showing a clear tension between neutrino oscillation results and
cosmological analyses. In general, removing either one of the two background
probes still provides a limit $\sum m_\nu \lesssim 0.06$~eV, reassuring the
enormous potential of these low-redshift observations in constraining the
neutrino mass.
