The build-up of lethal gases, flooding and unstable power supplies could all lead to more accidents in the country's already-dangerous mining industry, the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) said, according to the China Daily.

"Because of the effects of the weather, many coal mines lost power and had to shut," the department said in a statement on its website, the English-language paper reported.

"Others closed over the Lunar New Year holiday, and small mines are starting to open again after the vacation, putting huge pressure on safety.

"The safety situation is much more serious than in previous years."

Around 1,800 mines in four southern provinces were suffering from a build-up of gas because of power cuts, and a further 600 had flooded, the statement added.

"Power supply to coal mines in disaster-hit provinces are not operating normally, leading to many hidden dangers," it said, according to the report.

The freak snow storms and freezing temperatures in January and early this month caused widespread chaos in China, as the nation's power and transport networks were unable to cope.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, with demand rising alongside the boom in the nation's economy.

Nearly 3,800 lives were lost in Chinese coal mines last year, down 20 percent from the year before, the government reported last month, but independent labour groups suspect the actual death toll is much higher.

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