Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon affecting various aspects of life. Lack of understanding of the phenomenon is one of the reasons for its adverse impact. It is therefore of great importance to assess and characterize drought to plan appropriate management measures. In this study we attempted to characterize the droughts in the East District of Sikkim during the winter. Winter droughts (Oct–Mar) are a major cause of concern in Sikkim, responsible for reduction of productivity in high‐value horticultural crops, incidence of pests and diseases, forest fires and non‐availability of water for domestic purposes. For the characterization of drought the reconnaissance drought index (RDI) was applied using the data available for the period 1985–2012. From the analysis it could be seen that drought is experienced for 66.7 and 59.3% of time in the periods Oct–Dec and Jan–Mar. The droughts in the district followed the Wakeby frequency distribution function. The probability and return period were also estimated and it could be observed that every three years the district experiences drought. Specific management measures are necessary to minimize the adverse impact of drought. Some of the measures applicable to Sikkim are also discussed in the paper. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.