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AMES, Iowa — Researchers at Iowa State University have developed a
model to test how shading and air flow can improve indoor temperatures
during the sweltering heat of Midwest summers. 

New research by Sustainable Cities, a research group led by Ulrike Passe, associate professor of architecture,
shows the effects of tree shading and evapotranspiration on building
temperatures during extreme heat in the Midwest. Sustainable Cities is a
project within the Center for Building Energy Research, which is directed by Passe.

Passe’s research team recently presented their work at the Comfort at
the Extremes 2019 Conference in Dubai. The team includes Passe; Janette
Thompson, Morrill Professor of natural resource ecology and management; Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, professor of mechanical engineering;
Boshun Gao, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering; and Breanna
Marmur, Ph.D. student in natural resource ecology and management.

The Midwest is expected to see more high humidity and high dew point
days in the coming decades. By 2036 to 2065, one year out of 10 is
projected to have an “extreme heat event,” defined as a five-day period
that is 13 degrees warmer than a comparable earlier period, according to
the National Climate Assessment.

Further reading here: https://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2019/07/31/extreme-heat