An interpretation of global ozone changes deduced from satellite data obtained since 1979 is presented, based on two‐dimensional model simulations. The study shows that a depletion in total ozone of the order of 2 percent and a reduction in ozone density near 40 km of 7 to 12 percent over the 1979–1986 period are consistent with the observed increase in trace gas densities (chlorofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide) and the simultaneous decrease in solar activity during this period. The model also suggests that ozone variations of solar and anthropogenic origins between 1979 and 1986 were of similar magnitude but that the ozone response to trace gas emissions increases substantially with latitude while the solar signal in ozone is present lower in the atmosphere and is nearly independent of latitude.