The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) is a major mode of climate variability with periodically descending westerly and easterly winds in the tropical stratosphere, modulating transport and distributions of key greenhouse gases such as water vapor and ozone. In 2016 and 2020, anomalous QBO easterlies disrupted the QBO’s 28–month period previously observed. Here, we quantify the impact of these QBO disruptions on lower stratospheric circulation, and water vapour and ozone using reanalyses and satellite observations, respectively. Both constituents decrease globally from early spring to late autumn during 2016, while they only weakly decrease during 2020. These dissimilarities result from differences in upwelling and cold-point tropopause temperatures caused by anomalous planetary and gravity wave forcing. Our results highlight the need for a better understanding of the causes of QBO disruptions, their interplay with other modes of climate variability, and their impacts on water vapor and ozone in the face of a changing climate.