South Mato Grosso has been developing very rapidly in recent decades, and it is clearly leaving behind the status of being solely an agricultural region to become an important state in the areas of commerce and industry. Nevertheless, it is still possible to observe the harmful effects of atmospheric pollution due to biomass burning activities, even if those actions are being systematically reduced in the state throughout the past several years. This kind of pollution persists not only due to local activities but also due to the pollution of other states and even other border countries. Satellite remote sensing has proven to be an important tool of environmental control vis-à-vis the ease of data acquisition, accuracy and wide temporal range. A study has been conducted of spatial and temporal concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) in the state of South Mato Grosso from 2001 through 2012 using the MOPITT sensor onboard the TERRA satellite. The carbon monoxide comes principally from the incomplete combustion of vehicles engines and biomass burnings. A direct correlation of the CO concentration in the state of South Mato Grosso is observed precisely during the months of drought (August to October), for which the number of fire outbreaks is the highest of the year.
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