The new weather-related problems, combined with fresh downfalls forecast for southern China next week, could create another round of transport nightmares as millions of migrant workers begin their journey back to their work place - a reversal of the trip many made to get home for Chinese New Year this week.

The threat of landslides is particularly worrying, given that it could wipe out efforts to restore the power supply in hard-hit areas, and potentially endanger the lives of technicians conducting emergency repair work in mountainous areas of provinces such as southern Guizhou.

Thousands of these emergency crews worked round-the-clock and in freezing temperatures to restore power, or at least partial supply, to 164 of the 169 storm-lashed counties this week just in time for the festivities. The five other counties are relying on temporary power generators.

However, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) did not give details on when or where the heavy fog and landslides were likely to strike.

It gave a forecast for 'sunshine and warmer temperatures' for the storm-lashed regions in central, southern and eastern China until tomorrow, but warned that the weather crisis was not over yet.

'The snowmelt could lead to a new round of problems,' the CMA was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying. 'It could trigger geo-disasters such as landslides in mountain areas, while causing heavy fog in many parts of east China that will affect traffic.'

The latest warning about heavy fog and landslides comes almost a month after large parts of China were hit by the most severe winter storm in 50 years.

The extreme weather caused temperatures in central Hubei and neighbouring Hunan provinces to plunge to their lowest in a century.

The storms have so far killed more than 80 people and resulted in economic losses in excess of 80 billion yuan (S$16 billion), according to the Red Cross Society of China.

The destruction of crops and the disruption of agricultural supplies to the markets have also prompted concerns that food prices would spike sharply, further squeezing low-income families and those affected by the weather.

The problem is compounded by the fact that the demand for food is exceptionally high this time of the year due to the Chinese New Year festivities.

Inflation is already at an 11-year high in China due mainly to rising food prices.

But the Chinese government has thus far been able to avert the problem by shipping emergency supplies of meat and vegetables from its national reserves to the regions battered by the storms.

The Commerce Ministry said on its website this week that prices for vegetables and meat have declined by between 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent on average.

Some cities have even seen a drop in prices by as much as 7 per cent to 14 per cent.

Economists are already expecting inflation for last month and this month to hit a new high of 7 per cent.

chinhon@sph.com.sg