What is the issue with comparing dates in the given PHP code?

The issue with comparing dates in the given PHP code is that the dates are being compared as strings, which may not give accurate results. To accurately compare dates, you should convert them to DateTime objects and then compare them using the `compare` method.

$date1 = new DateTime($date1);
$date2 = new DateTime($date2);

if ($date1->format('Y-m-d') == $date2->format('Y-m-d')) {
    echo "Dates are the same";
} elseif ($date1 > $date2) {
    echo "Date 1 is later than Date 2";
} else {
    echo "Date 2 is later than Date 1";
}