We used to visit my grandmother in Phoenix. They didn’t have AC, they had refrigeration units that sit on the roof and just dump extremely cold air into the room.
Those are still common in some areas. My apartment in Hurricane had a “swamp cooler” on it as well as a totally inefficient window air conditioner, but during the monsoon months (mid-June to late August) the swamp coolers are totally useless. When one is used to single digit humidity, 11% can feel as miserable as 95% does, here.