Photo taken on Jan. 17, 2016 shows the scenery of rime in Yumen City, northwest China's Gansu Province. [Photo: Xinhua]

China's central meteorological station has forecast that this week, for many areas of the country, will see the coldest period of the winter so far.

Temperatures are expected to drop further from Thursday as a blast of icy air sweeps in from the north and west.

In northeast China's Huzhong Prefecture, Heilongjiang Province, temperatures reached minus 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday, cold enough to freeze eggs.

In northwest China's Xinjiang, many cities have seen heavy snow.

However, Zhu Dingzhen, an expert from the China Meteorological Administration, says this cold weather isn't a sign that the trend towards warmer winters is a thing of the past.

"During this latest cold spell, the extreme cold temperatures may not necessarily fall to the lowest recorded for this time of year. This cold blast is only expected to last two to three days. So on average, global warming and China's warmer winter phenomenon will remain a reality. Occasional changes in the weather, once or twice, won't stop the ongoing tendency towards warmer winters."

The Meteorological Administration says the warmer winter phenomenon in China is being caused by the El Nino effect, which has yet to take full effect this winter.