The drought has hit the densely populated Shaanxi province, where January rainfall was up to 90 percent below the average level from previous years, the Xinhua news agency said.

The drought could become even worse as temperatures in February were also expected to be higher than the same period in previous years and little rainfall was forecast, local meteorologists said, according to Xinhua.

Most parts in north China have been experiencing a warm winter with little snow and rain, Xinhua said.

The report came as the head of the China Meteorological Association, Qin Dahe, told reporters that the nation was starting to feel the impacts of global warming.

"We can say this winter has been a very warm one (in Beijing). This is clearly related to the tendency of global warming," Qin said.

He said a recent severe drought in southwestern China and lower water levels on the Yangtze River also bore the hallmarks of climate change.

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