Lightning is one of the most common natural disasters, and its thermal, mechanical, and electromagnetic effects pose significant threats to various facilities and equipment. Lightning protection design and testing are critically important. Conventional indirect lightning effect tests for equipment primarily focus on lightning current injection, which in many cases is simplified to tests on surge protective devices (SPDs). However, these methods no longer meet the needs of lightning protection performance evaluation for high-end equipment in industries such as power, communication, and industrial control, particularly due to the lack of system-level lightning electromagnetic effect testing. This gap makes it difficult to comprehensively and effectively evaluate equipment response characteristics. There is an urgent need to develop methods for assessing the system-level impact of lightning pulse electromagnetic field effects on equipment. This study begins with an analysis of the lightning pulse electromagnetic field characteristics generated by return stroke currents. Combined with the impact tolerance characteristics and levels of existing equipment, it emphasizes the necessity to focus on the hazards posed by electromagnetic field effects within 10 m to 100 m of the lightning channel to facilities and devices. Building on the pulse electromagnetic field test configurations specified in standards, the paper explores the electromagnetic field distribution within plate electrodes and Helmholtz coils, as well as the relationship between peak values and rates of change. Specifically, it addresses the coordination challenge between peak field strength and rate of change in electric field testing through experimental validation of electromagnetic field distribution. The findings of this research can be applied to optimize lightning pulse electromagnetic field-testing methods more accurately and effectively, enhancing the reliability of system-level lightning protection evaluations for critical infrastructure and sensitive equipment.