Hungary ? Scientists predicted Thursday that climate change in coming decades will cause more flooding in the Northern Hemisphere and droughts in some southern and arid zones.

In addition, they said that some areas around the Mediterranean, parts of southern Africa, northeastern Brazil and the western U.S. region will likely suffer water shortages.

Rajendra Pachauri, the chief U.N. climate scientist, said at the end of a meeting in Budapest that the rising frequency and intensity of floods and droughts could lead to a food crisis.

An IPCC report presented at the meeting said the decline of water quantity and quality would lead to shortages of water for drinking and agriculture. Millions of Africans could be afflicted by such water problems by 2020, unless action is taken to mitigate climate change, experts said.