How Does the Time to Expiration Affect an Option’s Gamma?

Gamma is generally highest for options that are near-the-money and close to expiration. As an option approaches expiration, its price sensitivity to the underlying price becomes highly magnified, leading to a spike in Gamma.

This is because the option's value quickly transitions from being highly sensitive to price (at-the-money) to having a Delta near 0 or 1 (deep out-of-the-money or in-the-money). Far-dated options have lower Gamma, as they have more time for the underlying price to move.