How can server settings impact the accuracy of time and date functions in PHP?

Server settings such as the timezone configuration can impact the accuracy of time and date functions in PHP. To ensure accurate time and date calculations, it is important to set the correct timezone in the server settings or within the PHP script using the `date_default_timezone_set()` function.

// Set the timezone to the desired value
date_default_timezone_set('America/New_York');

// Now PHP will use the specified timezone for all date and time functions
echo date('Y-m-d H:i:s'); // Output: current date and time in America/New_York timezone