What best practices should be followed when using PHP date functions to avoid timezone-related warnings?

When using PHP date functions, it is important to set the default timezone to avoid timezone-related warnings. This can be done by using the `date_default_timezone_set()` function to specify the timezone to be used throughout the script. By setting the default timezone, you can ensure that all date and time calculations are done in the correct timezone, preventing any warnings related to timezone settings.

// Set the default timezone to UTC
date_default_timezone_set('UTC');

// Now you can use date functions without worrying about timezone warnings
echo date('Y-m-d H:i:s');