Total ozone amounts derived from the NOAA operational sounder (TOVS) are compared to measurements from Nimbus‐7 SBUV and ground‐based Dobson spectrophotometer observations over a seven‐year period. The global trends of the data, in terms of deviations from long‐term averages, derived from measurements by each satellite instrument show qualitative agreement until mid‐1984 when the data diverge with the TOVS‐derived data showing higher values. Additionally, more significant differences appear in both the north and south temperate zones' records. The trends derived from the satellite systems' measurements also show differences from that of the Dobson instrument measurements with the trend of the TOVS measurements showing generally better overall agreement with the Dobson