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In this study, we describe the recent changes in the tropospheric ozone (O₃) columns measured by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), onboard the Metop satellite, during the first 9 years of operation (January 2008 to May 2017). Using appropriate multivariate regression methods, we differentiate significant linear trends from other sources of O₃ variations captured by IASI. The geographical patterns of the adjusted O₃ trends are provided and discussed on the global scale. Given the large contribution of the natural variability in comparison with that of the trend (25–85 % vs. 15–50 %, respectively) to the total O₃ variations, we estimate that additional years of IASI measurements are generally required to detect the estimated O₃ trends with high precision. Globally, additional 6 months to 6 years of measurements, depending on the regions and the seasons, are needed to detect a trend of |5| DU decade⁻¹. An exception is interestingly found during summer at mid- and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (NH; ∼ 40 to ∼ 75° N), where the large absolute fitted trend values (∼ |0.5| DU yr⁻¹ on average) combined with the small model residuals (∼ 10 %) allow for detection of a band-like pattern of significant negative trends. Despite no consensus in terms of tropospheric O₃ trends having been reached from the available independent datasets (UV or IR satellites, O₃ sondes, aircrafts, ground-based measurements, etc.) for the reasons that are discussed in the text, this finding is consistent with the reported decrease in O₃ precursor emissions in recent years, especially in Europe and USA. The influence of continental pollution on that latitudinal band is further investigated and supported by the analysis of the O₃–CO relationship (in terms of correlation coefficient, regression slope and covariance) that we found to be the strongest at northern midlatitudes in summer.