China's infamous smog has reached dangerous levels, and an official is saying the country needs to act now.

The concentration of fine particulates in the air, which are hazardous to human health, has risen to at least nine times higher than what is recommended by the World Health Organization, Bloomberg reported.

"China's pollution is at an unbearable stage," Li Junfeng, director general of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, said at a conference in Beijing yesterday, as quoted by Bloomberg. "It's like a smoker who needs to quit smoking at once otherwise he will risk getting lung cancer."

Beijing was put on an "orange" smog alert on Monday, the second-highest warning level in a new emissions-measuring system that was introduced last year, according to CNN.

Smog covers the capital city on a regular basis, nearly obscuring the sun and forcing people to stay inside, CNN reported.

The country must scale back on its use of coal, said Li, who is the government's adviser on climate change.

Authorities have vowed to close factories and limit the use of cars to cut back on emissions. According to Li, China needs to cut its reliance on coal by about 2 percentage points a year. Coal currently accounts for about 65 percent of the country's energy.

If the smog levels become even worse, Beijing could attempt to force half of the vehicles in the city to stay off the road, The Associated Press reported.

Despite the thick blanket of smog over Beijing, the government hasn't yet issued the "red" alert that would yank cars off the streets.

"Yesterday, I thought it was bad enough when I went out to eat. But this morning I was hacking," a Beijing pedestrian who gave her name as Li told the AP on Friday.

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