Solar ultraviolet (uv) radiation increases with an increase in altitude; due to decreased optical air masses, less scattering, and absorption. snow-capped areas possess a far greater risk, as uv radiation is reflected by snow. this research work was undertaken as a part of the product development of a sunscreen formulation required by the indian army for use in high altitude areas. troops deployed in high altitude areas are exposed to greater risk of uv exposure and the ministry of defence, govt. of india has sanctioned the supply of sunscreen to all troops deployed 6000 feet above sea level. prior to formulation development, uv radiation data was collected from various high altitude areas in arunachal pradesh. thereafter, the formulation was designed to provide optimum photoprotection in high altitude areas, where temperatures can drop below sub-zero conditions. it consists of four united states food and drug administration (usfda) approved uv filters; namely avobenzone (butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane), oxybenzone (benzophenone-3), octinoxate (ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate) and titanium dioxide; in a cream formulation which remained stable even in -20°c. it additionally contains the antioxidant cocktail of melatonin (n-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) and cucurbita pepo (pumpkin seed oil); which tackles the problem of ros generation due to self degrading nature of the uv filters combination, and their instability when exposed to uv radiation. the formulation was tested for stability, toxicity and efficacy under laboratory conditions. initially, the composition of the uv filters was fixed using in silico optimization methods to yield the highest theoretical spf value. thereafter the formulation was prepared as a simple oil-in-water emulsion which allowed the integration of all ingredients to yield a sunscreen cream (sc). the scs were prepared in three batches and one sample from each batch was characterized and tested for stability as per the international conference on harmonization (ich) guideline. stability conditions included 40 ± 2°c and 75 ± 5 % relative humidity for 6 months and -20°c ± 5°c for 12 months. the sc was tested for its toxicological impacts using organization for economic co-operation and development (oecd) protocols of assessing acute oral and dermal toxicity; skin sensitizing; skin irritating; ocular irritating and genotoxic potential. the formulation was also tested for it in vitro permeation and in vivo skin retention potentials. finally the protective effect of the sc against uv radiation was evaluated using various in vitro and in vivo methods which included molecular techniques like western blot and qpcr. the best optimized sc was found to be aesthetic and non-sticky. the formulation possessed good physicochemical properties, were non-toxic and were found to stable upto 12 months in sub-zero conditions. further, the formulation was found to be able to induce a remarkable uv protection via aversion of oxidative collagen degradation and promotion of tgf-β-smad-mediated collagen production. also, the inflammatory responses related to nf-κb and mapk pathways caused due to broad spectrum uv radiation exposure were suitably ameliorated. thus the formulation developed in this research work will suitably provide an answer to the requirement of the hour for a high spf sunscreen meant use in high altitude and glacial areas.