At the moment, catastrophic ozone depletion is only seen in the Antarctic during the spring, but surrounding areas experience lowered ozone levels as the ozone hole decays at the end of the spring. As the ozone hole rotates, it may extend over populated areas for a short while when it is very elongated. For example it covered the tip of South America and the Falkland Islands for over a week in October 1994.

Limited ozone depletion can occur above the Arctic, but at present it is confined to parts of the region and only lasts for a few days at a time. If CFC releases had continued at the high rates of the mid 1980s, a continental sized ozone hole might have appeared over the Arctic. Elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, stratospheric ozone amounts over temperate latitudes have fallen by 5 to 10% during the winter.