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Investigation of the pressing impacts of climate change on drought is vital for sustainable societal and ecosystem functioning. The magnitude of how much the drought will change and the way how droughts would affect society and the environment are inadequately addressed over East Africa. This study aimed at assessing future drought changes using an ensemble of five Global Climate Models (GCMs) in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) over East Africa. To this end, drought characteristics were investigated under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 in the near term (the 2020s; 2011–2040), midcentury (2050s; 2041–2070), and end of century (2080s; 2071–2,100). The changes of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation‐Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) were first compared, and the SPEI was used for measuring future droughts as it showed stronger changes due to its inclusion of temperature effects. Drought area in East Africa is likely to increase at the end of the 21st century by 16%, 36%, and 54% under RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5, respectively, with the areas affected by extreme drought increasing more rapidly than severe and moderate droughts. Spatially, drought event, duration, frequency and intensity would increase in Sudan, Tanzania, Somalia, and South Sudan, but generally decrease in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopian highlands. Results also confirm that drought changes over East Africa follow the "dry gets drier and wet gets wetter" paradigm. The findings provide important guidance for improving identification of causes, minimizing the impacts and enhancing the resilience to droughts in East Africa. Key Points: We examined the impact of changes in precipitation and temperature on drought characteristics over East Africa during 1981–2099Precipitation and temperature will increase over East Africa; however, the temperature impact is dominant leading to extreme droughtsDrought area in East Africa is likely to increase at the end of the 21st century by 16%, 37%, and 54% under RCP 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5, respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Africa (EA) has been the primary focus for various drought studies in recent years. However, a comprehensive analysis of droughts, including their evolution, complexity, social implications and people's vulnerability is currently lacking. Hence, there is a pressing need for an overview of drought studies in EA. Here, we present a state-of-the-art review of the causes and impacts of, and resilience to droughts in EA. Studies reveal that droughts tend to be more frequent, longer and more severe in the boreal spring and summer in EA, as the overall precipitation and water storage abruptly decline. A decrease in drought frequency is observed during the boreal autumn season (October–November). As these studies have only been analysed within the context of sparse and short-term regional climate data with very complex spatial and seasonal climate patterns, they are subject to uncertainties. The main causes for the changing pattern of droughts include climate variabilities and anthropogenic effects. Droughts have extensive impacts on human beings, environment, water resources and agriculture. Environmental rehabilitation involving the development of ecosystem services, biodiversity enhancement and soil and water conservation is found to be a suitable strategy to adapt to drought conditions. A better understanding of the causes and impacts of droughts, participatory management and community level actions are essential for building resilience to drought. Strong citizens–government–stakeholder cooperation is also valuable in monitoring and managing drought. The knowledge and insights gained from this review will help the countries in EA to build a drought-resilient society and will form a basis of information for other regions outside of EA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]