Beijing Raises Pollution Alert as Smog Smothers Capital

Beijing raised its pollution alert a notch higher Friday, in a bid to improve air quality levels. The capital issued a rare "orange" alert, the second-highest level possible.

The Chinese capital expects heavy smog to linger in the city for the next three days. Young children and the elderly have been asked to stay indoors.

Beijing currently has a four-tier alert system, which uses blue, yellow, orange and red to indicate the levels of air pollution, according to Xinhua's earlier report.

The weather forecast was jointly issued by the China Meteorological Administration and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

"Yesterday, I thought it was bad enough when I went out to eat. But this morning I was hacking," a Beijing pedestrian named Li told Associated Press on Friday.

According to data from the U.S. embassy, the level of PM2.5 particles in Beijing is at 378, which is above the upper limit of 300 for PM2.5 recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Last weekend the level was over 500, Reuters reported.

Particulate matter or PM is a mixture of small particles and liquid droplets, according to EPA. Fine particles measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller are known to cause several health problems.

The latest orange alert means that industrial plants in Beijing would be closed till the pollution level lowers. A more serious warning of red alert would lead to alternate driving days for even- and odd-numbered license plates, Xinhua reported

Some residents have welcomed the government's latest tiered rating system, while others expressed anger over why Beijing isn't taking more steps to reduce pollution levels.

"Excuse me, but do the PM2.5 measurements have to explode off the charts before we see a red alert?" said a user of weibo, China's twitter-like microblogging service, according to Reuters.

"Beijing municipal government, don't pretend to be blind in the fog," China Central Television's (CCTV) business channel posted on the Twitter-like Weibo.com, according to Xinhua. "The government should not shun its responsibility or turn a blind eye to the smog."