Abstract: A wet atmospheric cooling tower has a vertical chimney defining an air path from air inlet openings at the lower end thereof for admitting atmospheric air to an exhaust opening at the upper end thereof, a stationary packing extending circumferentially without any gap across the air path, and a distributor for spraying water to be cooled onto the packing from above. Water is cooled down by air while it flows down across the packing. For dry air-water heat exchange air ducts extend through the packing and open into the air path in a zone which is downstream of the packing. The heat exchanger includes a two dimensional network of passages arranged to receive atmospheric air only and distributed according to a two dimensional network.