PARIS: The atmosphere of Venus contains traces of phosphine gas - which on Earth can be attributed to living organisms - scientists said on Monday, in a fresh insight into conditions on our nearest planetary neighbour. Conditions on Venus are often described as hellish with daytime temperatures hot enough to melt lead and an atmosphere comprised almost entirely of carbon dioxide. A team of experts used telescopes in Hawaii and Chile's Atacama Desert to observe Venus' upper cloud deck, around 60 kilometres (45 miles) from the surface.

They detected traces of phosphine, a flammable gas that on Earth often occurs from the breakdown of organic matter.

Writing in Nature Astronomy, the team stressed the presence of phosphine did not prove the presence of life on Venus.

However, as the clouds swirling about its broiling surface are highly acidic and therefore destroy phosphine very quickly, the research did show that something was creating it anew.

The researchers conducted several modelling calculations in a bid to explain the new phosphine production.

They concluded that their research provided evidence "for anomalous and unexplained chemistry" on Venus.

Lead author Jane Greaves, from Cardiff University's School of Physics and Astronomy told AFP that the presence of phosphine alone was not proof of life on Earth's nextdoor neighbour.

"I don't think we can say that - even if a planet was abundant in phosphorus, it might lack something else important to life - some other element, or conditions might be too hot, too dry," she said. Greaves added that it was the first time phosphine had been found on a rocky planet other than Earth.