BEIJING - With the extremely cold weather that has swept most parts of China over the past week, soaring demand for heat has led to coal shortages and power cuts in many of the country's provinces.

Central China's Hubei and Henan provinces, along with Northwest China's Shaanxi province, have seen the consumption of coal rise steeply following the cold snap, which has been accompanied by heavy rain and snow in places, China National Radio (CNR) reported on Sunday.

In Hubei, 14 power stations had a total of 1.8 million tons of coal last week, compared to 3.7 million tons in September, the report said, adding that there is only enough coal left to meet another 12 days of the current demand for heat.