{"690063":{"#nid":"690063","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Opinion: Why the Southeast is burning. Extreme drought is only part of the reason.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/handlos-zachary\u0022\u003EZachary Handlos\u003C\/a\u003E, senior academic professional in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, explains how weather patterns can lead to conditions conducive to the types of wildfires currently seen in Florida and Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis piece also appeared in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/ripple\/2026\/04\/26\/why-the-southeast-is-burning-extreme-drought-is-only-part-of-the-reason\/?itid=hp_brand_promo_1\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Washington Post\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-the-southeast-is-burning-extreme-drought-is-only-part-of-the-cause-281392\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Conversation\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/handlos-zachary\u0022\u003EZachary Handlos\u003C\/a\u003E, senior academic professional in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, explains how weather patterns can lead to conditions conducive to the types of wildfires currently seen in Florida and Georgia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis piece also appeared in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/ripple\/2026\/04\/26\/why-the-southeast-is-burning-extreme-drought-is-only-part-of-the-reason\/?itid=hp_brand_promo_1\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Washington Post\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-the-southeast-is-burning-extreme-drought-is-only-part-of-the-cause-281392\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Conversation\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-04-29 21:59:19","changed_gmt":"2026-04-30 14:51:14","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Atlanta Journal Constitution","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/opinion\/2026\/04\/why-the-southeast-is-burning-extreme-drought-is-only-part-of-the-reason\/","dateline":{"date":"2026-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}