This image from space shows widespread smog in eastern China on Nov. 30, 2015. (NASA's Earth Observatory)

China has a really gross problem, and it's only getting worse.

Smog levels have gone far beyond what's considered safe in Beijing and other parts of eastern China, which has led officials to take unprecedented measures. In Beijing, the first ever "code red" was issued because of what is being called the "," Live Science reported.

The code red pollution alert has ordered drivers into an even-odd system of driving, where each day, according to the Press-Chronicle. Authorities hope this will keep pollution levels from rising any higher, as the readings .

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Winds and a cold front gave the city's residents a short break from the choking smog last week, and in the gallery at the top of this page, you can see in some of the images just how clear the skies were during that time.

The gallery's first image shows how clearly the smog was visible from space at the end of November. NASA's Earth Observatory that captured not just pollution, but fog and recent snowfall as well.

"The haze extended southwest from Beijing for hundreds of kilometers and was particularly dense in low-lying areas in the Guanzhong Plain," NASA wrote.

Much of the smog is created by the burning of fossil fuels that release sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide into the air, NASA said. About two-thirds of China's energy comes from coal, the report added.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: China's Smog Problem

A woman wears a protection mask as she walks along a street on a polluted day in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. Schools closed and rush-hour roads were much quieter than normal as Beijing’s first-ever red alert for smog took effect Tuesday, closing many factories and invoking restrictions to keep half the city’s vehicles off the roads. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)