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How can setting the default time zone in PHP impact the accuracy of date functions?

Setting the default time zone in PHP is important because it ensures that date functions like `date()` and `strtotime()` return accurate results based on the specified time zone. If the default time zone is not set, these functions will use the server's default time zone, which may lead to unexpected results especially when dealing with date calculations or comparisons. To avoid this issue, it is recommended to set the default time zone at the beginning of your PHP script using the `date_default_timezone_set()` function.

php 
// Set the default time zone to UTC
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');

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