What potential issues can arise when using the strtotime() function in PHP, especially in relation to time zone changes?

When using the strtotime() function in PHP, potential issues can arise when dealing with time zone changes. To ensure accurate date and time calculations, it is important to set the default time zone using date_default_timezone_set() before using strtotime(). This will prevent unexpected results when converting dates and times across different time zones.

// Set the default time zone to the desired one
date_default_timezone_set('America/New_York');

// Use strtotime() with the specified time zone
$timestamp = strtotime('2022-01-01 12:00:00');

// Output the converted timestamp
echo date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $timestamp);